- Data Portal
- > School Profile
Intrinsic Charter School
Intrinsic Charter School, nominated by NewSchools Venture Fund and Transcend, is a middle/high school in Chicago, Illinois, that describes itself as a public charter school serving learners from a primarily urban area.
Location Chicago, Illinois
Governance Public Charter School
Grades Middle, High
Students 967
Locale Urban
Chief Learning Officer Ami Gandhi
Demographics
Percentage of students*
41%
English Learners
91%
Free/Reduced Lunch
17%
Students with Disabilities
African American or Black 3%
American Indian/Alaska Native 1%
Asian —
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —
Hispanic or Latino 93%
White 2%
2+ Races —
Why Intrinsic Charter School was nominated
Intrinsic's academic model includes goals for each student and real world application - Large flexible classrooms that support student driven learning and multiple modalities of instruction - Each Wednesday is a student driven day where they pursue passions, professional interests, and academic help in deep and meaningful ways aligned to their goals - The school implements a comprehensive post secondary program that includes personalized post secondary planning and purpose-building - The school has community-building and SEL programs to form a strong and inclusive community, Intrinsic is a network of public charter schools - open enrollment, no testing required - that combines technology with great teaching to provide every student a personalized path to college and career. In order to better prepare students for postsecondary success, Intrinsic takes a more comprehensive approach to understanding students’ growth and progress, which includes agency outcomes in addition to academic ones. Personalization and independence is achieved via a holistic, 1:1 application of technology, which empowers team-teaching in flexible, data-driven classrooms—called pods—where 60 students supported by three teachers may be moving from self-directed work to instruction to collaboration and project-based learning.
Student experience design
Our goal is to create optimal learning experiences by combining proven instructional practices with next-generation and AI technologies and a unique classroom design with team teaching to for all students regardless of circumstance, parental education level, English proficiency, and prior learning difficulties. Our vision is to create an exceptional teaching and learning environment which prepares students for rigorous postsecondary options. We aspire to be a model for how to serve the diverse needs of Chicago’s middle and high school students.
Core Practices
| Core Practices | Length of Use |
|---|---|
|
AI For Teacher Productivity |
1-2 years
|
|
Blended Learning |
5+ years
|
|
1:1 Mentoring |
5+ years
|
|
High Quality Instructional Materials |
1-2 years
|
|
Student-led Conferences |
5+ years
|
All Practices
Adaptive Learning Software
Student Advisories
AI For Learning Materials
Assessments For Career Readiness
Assessments For Social-emotional Skills
Career Exploration
Co-leadership
Community And Workforce Partnerships
Family And Community Support Services
Culturally Responsive Practices
Disaggregated Data On Student Participation
Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles
Grading Policies Focus On Mastery
Higher Education Partnerships
All Courses Designed For Inclusion
Internships
Interoperable Data From Multiple Technologies
Mental Health Services
Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics
Industry Networking
Peer To Peer Support
Restorative Practices
SEL Integration School-wide
Service Learning
Students Access Their Own Data
Student-led Goal Setting
Self-paced Learning
Trauma-informed Practices
Universal Design For Learning
key reasons for innovating
Demonstrate what’s possible for other schools
Improve academic achievement
Increase student agency
Date Updated: 4/1/2026
*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.