Historical Context for Esperanza Academy

In 2002, the vestries of Christ Church of Andover and Grace Church of Lawrence convened to brainstorm a joint high-impact project to serve Lawrence. After researching and reviewing a number of ideas, they agreed that the highest need and the largest opportunity for impact was to address the lack of high quality educational opportunities for young women from the city, and the best way to do this was to start an independent middle school for girls.

On June 3, 2004 the board of trustees held their first meeting at Christ Church in Andover. Trustees quickly got to work hiring a founding head of school, choosing a building and location for the new school, and ramping up fundraising efforts. On April 24, 2006, Esperanza held its first admissions lottery and selected 21 fifth graders and 21 sixth graders. On September 6, 2006, with balloons, music, and many friends and supporters on hand, Esperanza Academy opened its doors to its first students. For the following two years, Esperanza added one grade per year to reach capacity. Esperanza currently educates 60 middle school girls in grades five through eight, and supports 141 alumnae in secondary schools and colleges across the country. Esperanza graduated its first class of eighth graders in 2009; those young women graduated from high school in 2013 and finshed college in 2017.

In 2015, Esperanza earned full accreditation from the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE).