The Lawrence Family Development Charter School was founded in 1995 by a coalition of Hispanic parents and community leaders who wanted a school that would be responsive to the academic, language, cultural, and developmental needs of their children. The founders wanted to provide an alternative that supported language and cultural values important to families in the community. They dedicated themselves and the school to educating the children of immigrants and other new arrivals to the City of Lawrence and preparing them and their families to move forward with skills needed for success in the 21st Century.

Blue Seal Feed Corporation donated the site for our campus in 1995. Since then we have undertaken an extensive renovation and building campaign to develop our kindergarten through fourth grade facilities. Our building program has helped revitalize a blighted neighborhood. This includes a $180,000 renovation to build first and second grade classrooms, a $200,000 renovation of a garage to house our kindergarten, and a new third and fourth grade classroom building costing $1.4 million. All current charter school facilities are owned debt free.

Our fifth through eighth grade students are currently located in leased space two blocks away from the campus. We are currently engaged in raising $6.6 million to construct a new building on our property to house our fifth through eighth grade classrooms, a gymnasium and an expanded cafeteria.

LFDCS opened in 1995 with 178 students enrolled in Kindergarten through third grade. It has grown since then to a Kindergarten through eighth grade institution with an enrollment of over 500 students. Admission to the school is based on a yearly lottery to fill 60 kindergarten seats that are available every September. Vacancies that exist in other grades when school opens in September are also filled through the lottery system. Over 200 children are currently on the waiting list for admission to LFDCS.

Our educational program features small class size to enhance learning potential. Kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms have a maximum of 20 students. Seventh and eighth grade classrooms have no more than 15 students. LFDCS is committed to providing equitable access to programs that are of high quality and developmentally appropriate, while ensuring that a focus on student learning is maintained through frequent and appropriate assessments of the educational program and students. Our curriculum is standards based and reflects complete alignment with the Massachusetts State Frameworks.