Eastside College Prep turns 30

A school born at a picnic table now sends nearly every graduate to college

It’s graduation time and Eastside Preparatory School graduates are simply beaming. Photos courtesy of eastside.org

In 1976, East Palo Alto lost its only high school. Students were bused out to schools in wealthier neighboring cities, where they were quietly placed in non-college-track classes. By the numbers, the results were devastating: 65% of East Palo Alto students dropped out of high school. Fewer than 4% went on to earn a four-year college degree.

It took 20 years for a high school to come back to this community. And when it did, it started at a picnic table in a park.

This year, Eastside College Preparatory School, the institution that grew from that park bench, marks its 30th anniversary. More than 99% of its graduates have been admitted to four-year colleges. Its alumni graduate from those colleges at more than three times the national rate for first-generation, low-income students. And more than 10% of its current staff are Eastside graduates themselves.

“It’s an exciting moment,” said Chris Bischof, who co-founded the school in 1996 and has served as its principal ever since. “There’s a lot to celebrate right now — the work students are doing here, but also in college. And to see so many alums who are staying connected to the school and doing great things in different areas, different industries, and living meaningful lives.”

Starting with eight students and no campus

Chris Bischof was a Stanford graduate who had already spent time working with East Palo Alto kids through Shoot for the Stars, an after-school program that tied basketball participation to daily tutoring. He knew the community. He knew what was missing. And he and classmate Helen Kim decided to do something about it.

In the fall of 1996, they enrolled eight ninth graders — some of them Shoot for the Stars alumni — and called it Eastside College Preparatory School. They didn’t have a building. That first year, the school moved between three or four borrowed locations. By year two, they had a small house on Pulgas Avenue. Classes were held in the bedrooms and the kitchen.

“It was a far cry from what most students would expect from a high school,” Bischof said. “I have a lot of respect and gratitude for those early students, who really took a leap of faith with us.”

Kim, who now serves as vice principal, put it simply: “I look out onto the campus every day, walk around, and I’m just awed: by the students, by the support the parents give, by all the supporters who make it possible for us to run this school. I’m so grateful that we get to be a part of this community.”

Interest grew. A donor offered a 1.6-acre lot at Pulgas and Myrtle Street. Enrollment grew to 20 students. By 2001, construction was underway on a real campus with science and computer labs, a Center for the Arts and dormitories.

Eastside College Preparatory School founder and principal, Chris Bischoff, is shown standing with his school’s students as they proudly pose for photos.

Beyond Getting Into College

Getting students into college was the original goal. But Eastside’s founders kept watching what happened next.

In 2008, the school launched a formal alumni support program, pairing graduates with college coaches and career advisors. Then came a career pathways program, connecting students to professional networks and internships before they ever set foot on a college campus.

“When students and families decide to come here, we make it clear that we’re making at least a 10-year commitment,” Bischof said. “Not just the four years in high school, but four years in college, and at least two years into their early careers.”

The results speak for themselves. Eastside alumni currently graduate from college at a 71% rate. For comparison, the national six-year college graduation rate for low-income, first-generation students is 21%. Seventy percent of Eastside college graduates have a professional job within six months of earning their degree, compared to about 35% nationally for first-generation graduates.

Alums Come Home

More than 10% of the school’s current staff are graduates, a strong  and clear signal of what Eastside means to its students.

“One of our dreams in the early days was that one day we could have at least one alum come back to work or teach here,” Bischof said. “Today it’s more than 10% of our staff. That’s been a dream come true and then some.”

Alumni also return as volunteers and meet with students to conduct mock interviews, lead career days, and speak to juniors and seniors about what college life is really like. Kim said hearing them reflect on their time at Eastside never gets old.

“It’s heartwarming,” she said, “because our goal is that the time we spend together here is truly a transformative experience.”

The Mission Still Feels Urgent

East Palo Alto sits in the middle of one of the wealthiest regions in the world. That proximity hasn’t closed the gaps in housing, income or access to resources that many families here face every day.

“So many things still persist,” Kim said. “Being that hub, that center within the community, where we can work with families and young people to make sure they have everything they need to achieve their goals — that need still feels very present.”

Bischof agreed. “We’ve always prioritized serving students here in the community,” he said. “That’s why the school started and exists today. That will always be the case.”

The school is also looking ahead to new challenges. Since 2022, artificial intelligence has become a growing topic at Eastside. The school has formed an AI advisory council to think carefully about how to prepare students for a workplace being reshaped by the technology.

And through it all, both founders say, Eastside has stayed small enough to actually know its students. “We’ve still maintained that nice, small family feel,” Kim said, “so that we can adjust and support and visualize the support for students.”

Half of Eastside’s teachers have been with the school for at least 15 years. A fifth have been there for at least 20.

“We don’t take that for granted,” Bischof said. “Teachers who are so committed to our students — that’s something special.”

Thirty years after eight students trusted a school that barely existed yet, Eastside College Preparatory School is still in East Palo Alto. It’s still on Myrtle Street and still opening doors.

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