The Helix faculty and staff voted overwhelming (75%) in January 1998 to move a petition forward to become an approved Charter High School as provided by the Senate Bill 1448, Charter Schools Act 1992. This decision came as the result of a three year process of staff examining how the school’s structure could best meet the vision of the Helix High School community. The charter was moved forward for approval to the Governing Board of the Grossmont Union High School District and in the spring of 1998 was forwarded to the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Board of Education for approval. In July the charter was approved and Helix High School became the 150th charter school in the state. Since inception, the charter has been renewed three times. The Helix staff voted to “go charter” in order to expand educational opportunities within the public school system without the constraints of traditional bureaucratic rules and structure and to provide schools a way to shift from a rule-based system of accountability. In essence, charter schools allow for increased flexibility in exchange for increased accountability. The most driving goal is to improve student learning.