Description:

PCSD's first project, ultimately serving 560 students of the Animo South Los Angeles High School, opened in the fall of 2005. Built on the site of a former jobs training program and a county health office, Animo South LA sits on a very attractive 2.6 acre site. Two existing buildings totaling 33,200 square feet were supplemented by a small addition to create an academically-friendly high school campus. The entire project cost less than $6 million or $11,500 per seat -- Phase I, which was completed in the Fall of 2005, created 200 seats for $2.195 million or less than $11,000 per seat.

This school was specifically designed to relieve chronic overcrowding at LAUSD’s Washington Preparatory High School. In the 2004-05 academic year, the year prior to the opening of this Green Dot High School, Washington Prep served 2,922 students. Its student body is 99.9% minority, with 63% eligible for the federal free-and-reduced lunch program (FRPL) Academically, in the 2004-05 API rankings, Washington Prep scored in the 1st (lowest) decile of all high schools in the state and the 2nd decile against the 100 most similar high schools in the state (Please see “Choosing Sites” for an explanation of API scores). Five years later (in 2009-10), Animo South LA scored 730 on the API index (with 99% minority and 72.9 % FRPL) whereas in contrast, Washington Prep with a similar population scored 546.

2008-2009 API: 705

2009-2010 API: 691

2010-2011 API: 728

Map of Location