About

The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, an organization started by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is one of the largest public school turnaround projects in the nation, serving nearly 20,000 students across 21 schools in some of the city’s most impoverished environments.

It is a unique collaboration between the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District to turnaround LA’s lowest performing schools and to create a model for doing so district wide.

An independent educational non-profit, the Partnership operates under an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District granting Partnership schools management and budgetary independence.

Partnership schools operate within the existing attendance boundaries and labor agreements.  No student is ever displaced from a Partnership school.

Focus

High poverty, high need schools:

• 87% of students participate in free and reduced lunch programs
• 40+% drop-out rate
• 98% of students qualify for Title 1 services
• 36% of students are English Language Learners

Model

Our model is focused on fundamental changes, rather than incremental improvements.  We work with existing school staff and provide them with the supports necessary for improving their practice.

Our strategy focuses on five key areas:

1. Transforming School Site Leadership and Culture
2. Strengthening Quality Instruction
3. Accelerating Opportunities for Students
4. Engaging Families and Communities
5. Optimizing School Structures and Operations

For more information on the Partnership’s approach, please view the Power Point presentation here.

Overview of Partnership Achievements

Statistical Achievements Academic Performance Index (API) scores

• The average growth across all Partnership schools was 17 points, a greater gain than the state and district as a whole, some charter operators, and the comparable local school districts.
• At 99^th Street Elementary School, the API was up 54 points and in the top 2% district-wide in terms of growth rate.
• API scores improved at Sunrise Elementary School by 41 points and at Roosevelt High School by 24 points, double its state target.

California Standards Test (CST) scores

• 9 of 10 Partnership schools improved in Language Arts
• 8 of 10 improved in Math
• 8 of 10 improved in Science
• 5 of 6 improved in History-Social Science
  
  

For more detailed information, please check the Power Point presentation here.

Other General Highlights

• 4-year graduation rates rose from 37% to 42% at Partnership high schools.
• Percentage of 8^th graders passing Algebra 1 increased 5% from 56% to 61%.
• Parent engagement swelled at all Partnership schools with more than 15,000 families and community members participating in school activities.
• Suspensions at all Partnership middle schools decreased 45% compared to last year.

Partnership Elementary Schools

• Increase of 9% in the number of 5th graders scoring at grade level in mathematics from 35% to 44%
• Increase of 8% in the number of all students scoring at grade level in English language arts from 26% to 34%
• Increase of 9% in the number of 3rd grade students scoring at grade level in English language arts from 14% to 23%
• More than 50% reduction in the number of students suspended in 2008-09
• 91% of parents report that they feel welcomed to participate at their school

Partnership Middle Schools

• Increase of 3% in the number of 8th graders enrolled in Algebra 1 from 48% to 51%
• Increase of 5% in the number of 8th graders passing Algebra 1 with a ‘C’ or better from 56% to 61%
• 83% of parents report that they feel welcomed to participate at their school

Partnership High Schools

• Increase of 4% in the number of 9th graders on-track to graduation from 60% to 64%
• Increase of 7% in the number of 10th graders passing both sections of the CAHSEE on their first attempt 41% to 48%
• Increase of 5% in the number of students graduating in four years from 37% to 42%
• Increase of 5% in the number of graduates passing all A-G courses with a ‘C’ or better from 17% to 22%
• Increase of 4% in the number of students achieving at least 1400 on the SAT or 19 on the ACT from 12% to 16%
• Increase of 4% in the number of students proficient on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) from 20% to 24%

Link to Our Data Page