Business & Finance

Less than a month after classes begin, charter high school in Los Angeles closes

Low enrollment and facility problems are blamed for shuttering City High School.
Sept. 15, 2016
2 min read

Plagued by low enrollment and problems with the facility it had leased, City High School, a charter school on the west side of Los Angeles, has voted to close.

LA School Report says the decision has forced 116 students to find new schools.

The Los Angeles Unified District had offered City High space at Dorsey High School, but turned it down because it was too far away from its middle school. It leased a facility at 9017 W. Pico Boulevard and experienced electrical and air-conditioning problems at the building.

The school expected 150 students on the first day, but only 125 showed up and more dropped out in the first few weeks, leaving the school in financial trouble. The board opted to cease operations at the high school immediately, said Valerie Braimah, executive director of City Charter Schools.

The City Charter Schools network includes City Language Immersion Charter, a dual-immersion elementary school, and The City School, a middle school. The middle school has been operating for five years, and the network’s leaders created a high school to serve its outgoing middle school students.

City High had only ninth and 10th graders; it began last year with a freshman class and planned on adding a grade level each year. Braimah says the goal is to have every displaced student enrolled in a new school by the end of the week.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy, senior editor, has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.

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