New West Charter School, Los Angeles | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I went to New West Charter Middle School for a year a and a half and it was well worth it. I was accepted mid-year and my grades, friendships and overall love for education increased within my first few weeks. Many people say that it is a terrible idea to have a school in a neighborhood but that is the ideal place for a school. Neighborhoods are supposed to be friendly and safe. We, as past, present, and future students, appreciate your willingness to accept us into the neighborhood.
The teachers at New West are phenomenal. They may teach a different way (ex. through debates and essays at the end of class units) but they definitely teach you what is required and even beyond the requirements. Some teachers, especially in 8th grade, go beyond the core and even reach into college subjects or ways of learning. I have skills that help me in my school now and help me generally in life. I am in another one of the top high schools and would have stayed at New West but location conditions permitted me to have to change schools. I know more than many of my fellow students at my present school and it is thanks to New West.
The complaints written are about the learning and noise. To those I would politely just like to say two things. First off, I learn in ways that differ from other people and when I came to New West I had to adapt at first, then I talked to my teachers about helping me learn and I began to acquire more knowledge. To be concise, New West staff and teachers are incredibly flexible and will help you learn or help your child learn as long as you talk to them and help them. How are they supposed to know that your child needs help if they don’t speak up or ask for help? The second thing is that the noise complaints are not usual. I live across from a (elementary) school now and it is noisy at recess and lunch and dismissal but that is expected. You cannot expect kids to go to school and not talk and be happy and play when they are permitted to; and who isn’t happy about leaving school for the day? We are in class 6 or 7 hours out of the 8 hours we are at school this means that the noise complaints are most likely about the hour or two that we are on break. We are in classrooms learning, where noise cannot be heard most of the day. If you expect a silent school in a family-friendly neighborhood then I don’t know what to say there. We do try to be quiet but we are kids and like everyone else, we aren’t perfect.
Overall New West is a great middle and high school. We strive for success and as a past student I don’t think I could have gone to a better school. New West may have minor faults but we can fix them and New West also, is not perfect. How can we show our potential if we aren’t given the chance?

We have experience with several different schools, and what New West does is pretty unique. Their approach to education is different from what you will find at a traditional public school: here kids learn through hands on experiences, simulations, projects. Work load is light in 6th grade, but believe me, it ramps up in later grades. The curriculum, including electives, offers many opportunities for kids to challenge themselves and discover new passions. The teachers are amazing. Yes, they are young, but I no longer view it as a negative. Most care deeply about their subject – and the kids – and inspire them with their enthusiasm. I never would have imagined that my child would become so interested in Speech and Debate, History, or tai chi. As a prospective parent, I was skeptical about the school’s high test scores, but now I can tell you – they are definitely not “teaching to the test”.They have good scores because they motivate kids to learn.

There are challenging things about the school. The transportation policy is truly draconian. I can barely keep up with my own schedule – trying to coordinate our schedules with those of 2-3 other busy families is definitely the hardest thing we have done. And we bend over backwards to do it, to give our kids a chance at this great education. However, because of transportation/parking restrictions, if you expect to be as active at the school as you were in the elementary school, you are out of luck. It simply won’t happen here. It is a sacrifice we parents make to be good neighbors.

People have complained about the administration, but all I can say, the principal knows how to get things done. MS assistant principal, Ms Barnett, will understand your child probably better than you do. Administration’s goal is not only to teach kids, it is also to usher them into adulthood and independence. There is a very strong emphasis here on building personal and social skills as with coursework. This is mainly done through the advisory program (a couple of hours each week is spent in home rooms exploring characters, independence, social interactions), and assembly.

In summary, we are truly grateful that such a great public (ie., free) school exists. New West’s education model should be emulated by other schools.

The two years my son attended New West were very different. The first, in the old campus on Pico (next to a strip club), was decent. He had a supportive crew of teachers who really seemed to want him to succeed, sending the odd email when he needed help in one of his classes, usually when he was missing an assignment or two.

School governance was fairly opaque, and there were limited ways to try to affect change, but while things were good, that was less of a concern.

In my boy’s second year, things changed. The school moved to its current location, expanding from just middle school to middle and high school. His teachers were either new to teaching, or just less helpful. I’ve never gone and gotten an official IEP, but my boy forgets things and needs a little nudge to get his stuff in. I realize that that isn’t a teacher’s responsibility per se, but it was helpful the first year. In any case, teaching quality was decidedly sub-par compared to the first year from both new and veteran teachers. My very bright son ended up failing 7th grade Science. Because of this, I was informed that he’d either have to take accredited summer school or tutoring to continue. Since I know he knows his stuff and it was just a matter of homework credits, we took the other option and fled.

When a new charter opened closer to home that both of my kids could attend, we jumped at the chance.

The one star may be harsh for a school that has scores like this one, but the state that it was in when we past attended merits it. Speaking of scores, they dropped that last year we were there, perhaps vindicating my view of the place.