Lawndale Elementary School District

Lawndale Elementary School District (LESD) is a school district headquartered in Lawndale, California, United States.[1]

The district educates residents in:[2][3] Lawndale, and portions of Hawthorne,[4] as well as unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County (including Alondra Park).[5]

History

Around the mid-20th century most of the families were Anglo White and blue collar. In 1968 the district had 7,016 students, a peak enrollment. However in 1983 it was down to 3,974, which became the lowest enrollment at the time. The enrollment declined because the area became more expensive, limiting the number of new families.[6] In 1985 the district's enrollment had increased to 4,030 students, with 42.9% being Anglo White, 37.3% being Latino or Hispanic, 13.9% being Asians, 5.6% being black, and 0.4% being Native American.[7]

In 1987 there Larry Breon, a member of the Lawndale city council, put forward a proposal to merge this district with the Centinela Valley Union High School District, with the former Lawndale High School being the unified school district's high school. Due to potential complexities, a lawyer from the Centinela district criticized the plan.[8]

James Waters served as the superintendent until 1991, when he moved to be the Santee School District superintendent. His resignation was effective after September 20, 1991.[9]

Around 1991 the annual growth rate for the student body was 100 as wealthier families were moving to the district. In 1991 Kim Kowsky of the Los Angeles Times stated that the district, in light of the expansion of the number of racial and ethnic minority students, was "rapidly changing" and that therefore there were "lively" board campaigns for three seats on the district board. As of October 1991, there were 4,332 students: 41% of the students were Latino or Hispanic, 31% were Anglo White, 13% were black, and 10% were Asian. Of the student body, limited English proficiency students made up less than 30%.[6] The enrollment circa August 1991 was about 4,500.[9]

Schools
Elementary schools
  • William Anderson Elementary School (Lawndale)
  • William Green Elementary School (Lawndale)
  • Billy Mitchell Elementary School (Lawndale)
    • Circa 1991 it was one of the largest LESD campuses.[6]
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt-Kit Carson Elementary School (Alondra Park, Unincorporated area)
  • Lucille J. Smith Elementary School (Lawndale)
  • Mark Twain Elementary School (Alondra Park, Unincorporated area)
Middle schools
  • Jane Addams Middle School (Lawndale)
  • Will Rogers Middle School (Lawndale)

The district had closed four schools due to the 1970s to 1980s population decline. Jonas Salk School in Hawthorne by then was not in use.[6]

References
  1. "Home". Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved 2019-10-23. 4161 W 147th St., Lawndale, CA 90260
  2. "School Site Locator Lawndale Elementary School District." Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved on 14 April 2019.
  3. "Elementary School & Middle School Boundaries as of September 2008." Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved on May 5, 2010.
  4. "Zoning Map" (PDF). City of Hawthorne. Retrieved 2019-04-13. Compare this map to boundary maps issued by school districts.
  5. "Alondra Park CDP, California." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 2, 2017. Compare this map to boundary maps issued by school districts.
  6. Kowsky, Kim (1991-10-03). "ELECTIONS / SCHOOL DISTRICTS : Lawndale's Growing Diversity Sparks 3 Lively Races for Board". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-23. [...]But their children, unable to afford homes in the area, were forced to leave. And as they left, the flow of new students into the district declined and enrollment plummeted.[...]
  7. Stein, George (1985-10-24). "4 Candidates in Race for Lawndale School Board Posts; 1 Drops Out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  8. "Lawndale: Schools Plan Called a Loser". Los Angeles Times. 1987-07-09. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  9. "Superintendent Being Sought". Los Angeles Times. 1991-08-05. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.