Mike Piscal


In 1988, at age 21, Mike Piscal began his teaching career in a public school in his native New Jersey. He moved to California in 1989 seeking the opportunity to become a better teacher and took a job teaching English at the prestigious independent Harvard School, later the Harvard-Westlake School. In 1994, troubled by the inequities he saw in the public schools in Los Angeles, he left Harvard-Westlake to found the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF).

In 1996, ICEF opened a summer camp, an after school program, and a childcare program, and in 1999, its first charter school, the View Park Prep Elementary School. In 2001, View Park Prep Middle School opened its doors, and in 2003 the View Park Prep High School was born. There are now 570 students in the three schools, and their track record places them among the highest performing schools in the nation.

• In 2002, according to the School Wise Press and the California Department of Education, View Park Prep Middle School had the highest math scores in the city of Los Angeles - besting wealthy magnet schools in Pacific Palisades and in Sherman Oaks.

• View Park Prep has twice won the Los Angeles County Science Fair beating out schools in San Marino, Palos Verdes, Beverly Hills, and all of LAUSD.

• The View Park Prep Elementary has over an 800 API Score.

• The Middle School has the 3rd Highest Test Scores in Los Angeles and the High School has the 7th Highest test scores.


• The schools offer art, music, drama, and sports programs, all funded with public school dollars. In fact, View Park Prep gets 28% less public funding than non-charter public schools.

• ICEF and View Park Prep Charter Schools have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, on Good Morning America, and on local PBS affiliate, KCET's, news magazine, "Life & Times."

In January of 2005, Michael Piscal was named Charter School Leader of the Year for the state of California by the California Charter Schools Association. In May 2005, he will receive an honorary degree from his alma mater Wake Forest University. You can visit his website at www.icefla.org.

Blog Entries by Mike Piscal

Let's Add SAT Scores Into the Mix When Holding High Schools Accountable

2 Comments | Posted June 19, 2009 | 11:30 AM (EST)


As students throughout California graduate this month, many will still lack acceptance into college this fall. In fact, six in ten high school students here in Los Angeles Unified won't attend college. It's time that our policymakers ask themselves: Are we holding our high schools to the right accountability measures...

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Thousands of Parents Stand Today for Public School Choice

Posted June 5, 2008 | 02:14 PM (EST)


Today will mark a historic day in the state's charter school movement, as several thousand parents will assemble to march on the Los Angeles Unified School District to demand choice, equity and accountability within California's public school system. School districts like Los Angeles Unified continue to stifle the growth of...

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Renewed Hope for LA's Public Schools

Posted October 10, 2007 | 10:44 AM (EST)


Few would argue with the fact that we have an educational crisis in South Los Angeles. Consider this: of the close to 4,000 kids that enter a ninth grade public school each year in the 45 square-mile area between USC and the Los Angeles Airport, fewer than 1,600 of them...

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Sticking Up 4 Teachers

Posted July 31, 2005 | 11:42 PM (EST)


Some readers of my previous two blogs claim I am picking on teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a teacher and always will be a teacher. More importantly, now that I have over forty teachers working for me, I have a track record of providing my...

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Putting Kids Last

Posted May 20, 2005 | 12:45 AM (EST)


The Unions that claim to represent the best (and special) interests of teachers are the UTLA, the CTA, the NEA and AFT. You don’t need to know what the letters stand for except UTLA is Los Angeles’s union, CTA is California’s union, and the NEA and the AFT are the...

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I Will Name Names

Posted May 12, 2005 | 07:47 PM (EST)


I am the founder and CEO of the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) and the View Park Preparatory Charter Schools. Since 1994, ICEF has opened after school programs, a childcare center, and three of the highest performing public (charter) schools in Los Angeles. All of our schools are located in...

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