Lawndale Elementary School District

Lawndale Elementary School District (LESD) is a school district headquartered in Lawndale, California, United States.[2]

Lawndale Elementary School District
Address
4161 West 147th Street
Lawndale
, California, 90260
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesK–12[1]
NCES District ID0621210 [1]
Students and staff
Students4,949 (2020–2021)[1]
Teachers202.52 (FTE)[1]
Staff338.71 (FTE)[1]
Student–teacher ratio24.44:1[1]
Other information
Websitewww.lawndalesd.net

The district educates residents in:[3][4] Lawndale, and portions of Hawthorne,[5] as well as unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County (including Alondra Park).[6] It formerly covered a portion of Del Aire.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

In 1987 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.[10]

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.[11]

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%.[8] The enrollment circa August 1991 was about 4,500.[11]

In 2021 a block of unincorporated areas that was in the Lawndale School District and Centinela Valley USD voted on a proposal on whether it should move to the Wiseburn Unified School District; previously students living in the block living in Wiseburn would have had to get permission from their zoned school districts to attend Wiseburn. According to Hunter Lee the Daily Breeze, "few" people voted in the election.[12] The vote to transfer the area to Wiseburn was approved.[13]

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.[8]
  • 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.[8]

References
  1. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Lawndale Elementary". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  2. "Home". Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved 2019-10-23. 4161 W 147th St., Lawndale, CA 90260
  3. "School Site Locator Lawndale Elementary School District." Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved on 14 April 2019.
  4. "Elementary School & Middle School Boundaries as of September 2008." Lawndale Elementary School District. Retrieved on May 5, 2010.
  5. "Zoning Map" (PDF). City of Hawthorne. Retrieved 2019-04-13. Compare this map to boundary maps issued by school districts.
  6. "Alondra Park CDP, California." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 2, 2017. Compare this map to boundary maps issued by school districts.
  7. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Los Angeles County, CA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 10 (PDF p. 11/19). Retrieved 2023-03-17. - Note that since 2020 the Wiseburn USD district expanded in size to cover the rest of Del Aire. Compare the 2020 map to the current Wiseburn USD map and it shows the affected areas of Measure A (2021) are parts of Del Aire CDP.
  8. 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.[...]
  9. Stein, George (1985-10-24). "4 Candidates in Race for Lawndale School Board Posts; 1 Drops Out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  10. "Lawndale: Schools Plan Called a Loser". Los Angeles Times. 1987-07-09. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  11. "Superintendent Being Sought". Los Angeles Times. 1991-08-05. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  12. Lee, Hunter (2021-03-02). "Measure A, which will decide boundaries of Lawndale, Centinela and Wiseburn school districts, appears on its way to passing". Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  13. "Special Elections March 2, 2021". Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Retrieved 2023-03-17. - See "LAWNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT, CENTINELA VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, WISEBURN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL REORGANIZATION ELECTION - MEASURE A"
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