Alternatives In Action High School

Alternatives in Action High School serves youth from the Bay Area who are motivated to transform their lives and their communities. The first youth-initiated charter high school in the country, AIAHS provides an environment in which youth take ownership of their own learning and partner with caring adults to change their lives as they change the community around them. We are located in the Seminary neighborhood of East Oakland.

Our Journey

Alternatives in Action High School was originally founded as the Bay Area School of Enterprise in February 2001, when a group of ten youth, working in partnership with adult experts, designed, wrote, and submitted the first ever youth-initiated charter school petition in the country. After receiving a unanimous vote of approval from the Alameda Unified School District Board of Trustees on May 16, 2001, the school opened in September 2001. The school’s Charter was subsequently renewed again by unanimous vote of the Alameda Unified School Board in February of 2006 and February 2011, and was renewed once more in November 2015.

The school is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, the high school relocated to East Oakland.

In 2017, we celebrated our 20th Anniversary with former and current youth participants, staff, and community members. See our 20th Anniversary video.