HAPA scholars enjoy college and career success, value Hmong cultural heritage, and exhibit responsible and peaceful leadership in local and global communities.

• Scholars are global citizens, peace builders, and leaders who act as a bridge between their Southeast Asian culture and mainstream American culture.
• Hmong American Peace Academy, Ltd. is internationally known as a state-of-the-art model for education in providing services to bilingual and bi-cultural scholars and their families, is a resource for meeting the needs of Hmong families and a center for sharing and celebrating Hmong history, culture, and language.

In August of 2000, Dr. Chris Her-Xiong challenged Hmong community leaders to come together to create an organization that preserves the Hmong culture and language while helping scholars become active and knowledgeable citizens in America. With the guidance and technical support from others, the Hmong American Peace Academy, Ltd., a non-profit (501c3) organization was established. In 2004, Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) opened its doors as a non- instrumentality public charter school of the Milwaukee Public School system and as the first Hmong Charter School in Wisconsin. 

The Milwaukee Hmong community worked together to bring HAPA to life and is committed to growing the school to serve every Hmong child in the community. Scholar enrollment has grown from 200 in 2004 to now serving over 1,800 scholars and is recognized as one of Milwaukee’s highest performing schools.