Mission Statement
To create champions of academic excellence, social responsibility, self-expression,
and life-long learning through the arts.

Dear Friends and Neighbors, please allow me to introduce you to our school,

Founded by Dr. Norman Isaacs and a small group of concerned parents in 2005, CHAMPS Charter High School is an independent public high school offering small academic classes including honors and advanced placement, as well as comprehensive academies for dance, drama, film, music, new media and robotics. Students come from diverse backgrounds and a wide geographic area. Kindness and respect for one another predominate on the campus.

On September 6, 2005, a wonderful new public high school opened in our community, one you may not even know exists.  It’s officially entitled Charter High School of the Arts – Multimedia and Performing, but we call it CHAMPS.  Located in Van Nuys, to date the school has 480 students enrolled in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. The student body comes from a wide area that includes many parts of the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County. Each school year we will add additional students for each grade level until we reach our goal of approximately 800 students in grades 9-12. This is a public charter school that does not charge any tuition.

At the heart of CHAMPS’ curriculum is a strong emphasis on academics and every student will be required to maintain a high level of competency in all subjects required for entrance to a state university.  With our average student to teacher ratio of 25 to 1, every student will be taught in the most optimum conditions to be able to excel in all subjects, including those that may have challenged them in the past. 

Also, what makes CHAMPS so unique is the arts specialties and electives.  These offerings are designed to enhance the educational experience of every student, and advance the skills of those training in a specific art form.  These students train up to 20 hours per week perfecting their skills, in addition to their rigorous academics.  Here is a brief description of CHAMPS’ four academic units that we currently offer:

The vision of CHAMPS is based on the premise that most young people want to do well, and given the right tools, can succeed. Principal Baylis and the teachers and staff are dedicated to making CHAMPS a place where students actually thrive on the excitement of being in school.