After years of steady growth and impact, the Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) engaged Spectrum Nonprofit Services to help chart its next phase with a new strategic direction and implementation coaching. By aligning its team and board around a unified vision, HAPA expanded its reach from 700 to nearly 2,000 students and strengthened educational outcomes.
The Mission
HAPA is a high-performing public charter school on Milwaukee’s northwest side, serving Hmong students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Hmong people were U.S. allies during the Secret War — part of the broader Vietnam War. Many were forced to flee and resettle in places like California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, which is now home to one of the largest Hmong populations in the country.
Driven by an inspiring and courageous educator, Dr. Chris Her-Xiong, HAPA became a nonprofit organization in 2000 and opened its doors as the first Hmong charter school in Wisconsin in 2004 with 200 elementary school students. Since its founding, HAPA has been dedicated to preserving Hmong culture and fostering academic excellence for every child in the community.
The Ask
As the school’s reputation for rigorous and culturally informed education spread, so did demand. When HAPA’s leadership acquired a former school that vastly expanded the possibilities, they found themselves at a threshold: Could they serve even more of Milwaukee’s Hmong community — and how? Interest from families was rising and there was a clear community need. Should the organization expand beyond academics into a cultural center? Through these questions, the board and executive team recognized that sustaining impact would require a strategic approach to growth.
HAPA engaged Spectrum to develop a strategy for institutional growth without diluting academic quality, aligning the boardroom and the classroom around a clear vision, and strengthening revenue to support long-term sustainability.
The Approach
To establish a strong strategic direction for HAPA, Spectrum first sought to understand the organization’s place in the community — conducting a market analysis to understand need and the community’s perception of the school. Driven by this data, Spectrum then worked with the board to articulate intended impact and barriers to impact.
Spectrum then drew on our organizational model — a framework that recognizes how a nonprofit’s mission, finances, and people are deeply interconnected — to develop a prioritized, actionable plan to scale the organization. Using this approach, we were able to balance the impact they want to create with the resources needed to make it happen.
The organizational model created clear direction and alignment for HAPA, keeping access to quality education at the center while expanding the school’s reach to serve even more students. Once the strategy was set, Spectrum provided ongoing coaching to help HAPA’s team lead with confidence and stay nimble as new challenges and opportunities arose.
The Results
Armed with a strategic direction that balanced HAPA’s vision for growth with its commitment to excellence, the organization rallied stakeholders around a singular vision and saw measurable progress — including enrollment growth from 700 to nearly 2,000.
As the school expanded, academic results remained consistently excellent. Approximately 85% of HAPA students come from low-income homes, more than 20% are English language learners (ELL), and the vast majority will be the first in their families to attend college. Even with these obstacles, HAPA students regularly outperform state averages. The class of 2025 achieved a 100% graduation rate, 100% college acceptance rate, and $22.5 million in scholarships and grants among 119 students.
Like many public charter schools, HAPA faces a persistent funding gap. To sustain growth and quality, Spectrum supported HAPA in establishing the HAPA Foundation and developing operating procedures. Since 2022, the Foundation has secured major support from partners, including the Bader Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, Northwestern Mutual, and a $3 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
The impact is visible through individual stories as well. John Thao transferred to HAPA in fourth grade, graduated with a 3.48 GPA, earned nearly $800,000 in scholarships and grants, and now attends Marquette University on a full ride.