Esperanza Academy Charter Elementary School

PZS Architects designed this new Elementary Academy Charter School located in the Hunting Park neighborhood of Philadelphia that celebrated its Grand Opening in September 2025. The new, 70,000 square foot facility includes a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) room, a music room, a gymnasium, a state-of-the-art kitchen, and a life skills classroom. In addition to extra-curricular activities like recreational sports, students will enjoy classes in art, music, Spanish, technology, humanities, and physical education. They will also have early exposure to fields like engineering, which will help prepare them for the curricular majors available to them in high school. Esperanza Academy Charter School is dedicated to providing a quality education that prepares critically thinking, socially capable, spiritually sensitive, and culturally aware young adults who can use English, Spanish, and technology as tools for success in the 21st century.

Rev. Danny Cortes, Esperanza’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, shares, “This building reflects our core values of excellence – and that is intentional. You cannot tell a young person that they can be anything and not provide them with the best resources and educators who will help them believe it is really possible. Over two decades, Esperanza Academy graduates are evidence of what happens when you inspire a young person and remove the obstacles.”