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LA's Promise Neighborhood

One of the most impacted communities in South Los Angeles is undergoing transformation, anchored by LA's Promise, a nonprofit with a deep connection to the children, families and history of this community. LA's Promise and its partners turn public schools into community beacons, offering a college-ready education, wraparound services and the support needed to ensure that every neighborhood child leads a healthy, successful life.

At the center of this transformation is one of the city’s oldest schools, Manual Arts High School. Two miles north on Vermont Avenue, West Adams Prep opened in 2007 to relieve decades of overcrowding at Manual Arts, and as the city’s first LA's Promise, showcases a new model for urban public schools. To the south of Manual Arts is the new “South LA High School No. 3.” Together these three flagship high schools and their feeders represent the promise of a college-ready education and a successful life for every child who lives nearby. LA's Promise is ensuring these schools fulfill that promise and calling the 8.2-square-mile enrollment zone that surrounds these schools LA’s Promise Neighborhood

LA's Promise partner school family will soon span from kindergarten through 12th grade and already includes the two existing flagship high schools, Manual Arts and West Adams Prep. Soon, LA's Promise will open smaller high schools specially focused on serving neighborhood children with the greatest academic needs. LA's Promise will also partner with local feeder middle schools to create an educational "pipeline" that keeps children in school and prepares them for college and life beyond high school. In this way and with the community's help, LA's Promise will create a diverse, community-focused family of schools to accommodate the needs of an entire region of our city.

LA's Promise primary goals are to significantly increase retention, college-readiness, and college matriculation for the children of LA's Promise Neighborhood. To achieve these goals, LA's Promise places emphasis on meeting each student's social, physical and emotional needs as well as academic needs. Schools in the LA's Promise family serve as the hub of wraparound services to support the whole child and family. Over 50 specially screened partners providing over 200 services work together to address the comprehensive needs of the school community. A "universal referral system" ensures that community members of LA's Promise Neighborhood easily connect to LA's Promise service providers. Of particular importance are community health clinics that will operate at each flagship high school. These clinics will provide basic services (such as eye and dental care) to every child enrolled at LA's Promise schools.

A system whereby all partners are rigorously screened to ensure quality, managed according to clear service agreements, and published in a directory to ensure that teachers, students and families are aware of and can access valuable services.

Check out LA's Promise Online Directory, an internet portal that connects students and families who live within LA's Promise Neighborhood to over 200 services, including tutoring, health screenings, legal services and employment support.