FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
January 27, 2010
Media Contact: Matt Scelza (213) 745 - 4928

Los Angeles, CA – In the 2008-09 School Report Cards (SRC) released today, West Adams Preparatory High School and Manual Arts High School demonstrated increases in both Academic Performance Index (API) and student graduation rates. 

Academic progress in both MLA schools outpaced that of the Los Angeles Unified School District as a whole.  West Adams Prep’s API score saw a 31-point gain from last year’s index.  Manual Arts hadn’t received a score in 2008; the 2009 numbers show a 22-point jump from 2007.

“We’re proud of the progress shown in today’s Report Cards,” said Mike McGalliard, President/CEO of MLA Partner Schools.  “These results prove the value in MLA’s new model for public education in Los Angeles.”

Both schools showed an increase in the number of students on-track for graduation and posted rates higher than the district’s average.  The report indicated that 72% of 9th to 10th grade students at West Adams Prep are on track for graduation, 8% higher than last year.  While the school’s 10th to 11th graders showed a 9% increase in graduation rates from the previous year.  Manual Arts‘ lower and upper class-men, on the other hand, indicated a 7% and 10% jump, respectively, from last year.

In the assessments of the learning environment, both schools measured highly for providing a safe and conducive learning environment.  The reports from both schools indicated that the schools are strong in the areas of ensuring student involvement in school, providing learning opportunities, including parents in school decisions, and supporting staff in their work. 

The SRC provides parents, schools, and community members a profile of a school’s performance, using key indicators such as students’ California Standards Test scores and progress toward graduation.  The report was prepared with input from parent, student, and staff surveys.

MLA Partner Schools is a nonpro?t organization working to improve schools and empower neighborhoods in some of the most disenfranchised communities in Los Angeles.  MLA creates high performing urban schools that combine innovation, equity and access, offering a college-ready education to every child in the surrounding neighborhood.  These schools become community focal points that support and strengthen their communities. 

An MLA Partner School is a public school designed and managed in collaboration between MLA, LAUSD and community stakeholders.  The city’s first Partner School, West Adams Prep, opened in September 2007 to serve 2500 students with a first-rate education, setting a new standard for public schools and anchoring a strategic revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood.  In 2008, Manual Arts High School joined MLA Partner Schools, bringing MLA’s student enrollment to over 6000.  MLA’s vision for the coming years is to create a network of schools within the same geographic area committed to making every neighborhood child college-ready.

To learn more about MLA Partner Schools, visit www.mlapartnerschools.org.

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