UPA, or University Preparatory Academy, is a charter school located in San Jose, California, emphasizing hands-on learning for all ethnicities; its charter was approved by the Santa Clara Board of Trustees. UPA opened in the fall of 2007 as a middle and high school, offering grades 7–12th. Currently about 550 students attend UPA, and the school has a student/teacher ratio of 20:1, above average for Californian schools.