New West Charter School

New West offers a great alternative to LAUSD's over crowded schools. The one-on-one attention provided by it's core teachers, make New West's learning a unique & enriching environment. We value the teacher to student ratio which is that of a private school; additionally, it's social & cultural diversity enriches the learning experience. Our son is learning & is very happy there. Thank you New West teachers & Dr. Weir!
—Submitted by a parent

Good teachers. Family atmosphere.
—Submitted by a parent

New West is a great school. My 12 year old daughter goes there and enjoys it very much. She has been going there since october of 2004. She transferred from paul revere, their homework was just overwelming and her teachers were racists. Overall new west is a wonderful place to send your children.
—Submitted by a parent

Extracurricular activities were very limited but the social aspect for the students was rewarding for my daughter. There are limited teachers so it is important to make sure your child's learning level is being matched by the resources available. The parents are involved in many aspects of the school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am very happy with the school, the teachers and principal are great. The only problem is that they don't have much of a playground. But the small size makes up for that and it feels like a private school.
—Submitted by a parent

My child attended the first year. I can sum up this school in one word: disorganized. We were worried from day to day if the school would even last out the year.
—Submitted by a parent

As a 'founder', i have been with the school for over 3 years. My child has attended new west since the 6th grade and is currently in the 8th grade. She is a member of the class of 2006 who will hold the distinction of being the first class to culminate having attended the first 3 years of it's existence! while our road has been rocky, the students have been the beneficiaries of a richly diverse student body, good academic programs, and awesome art, music, and lauguage activities. Family commitment, participation and involvement is expected and encouraged! if i could turn back the hands of time and begin again, i would still choose new west.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been with this school from the beginning. New West is a great school with dedicated teachers,staff,parents and students. The first year was rocky, but not as rocky as some have mentioned. The second year was great! The director issues, staff changes and all the rest was well within what is expected of a new charter school. Bottom line, our kids did better than most others at area schools. My child benefited greatly from what New West offers and graduated with honors. I have an incomming sixth grader starting in September and would never go anywhere else! Rock On New West!
—Submitted by a parent

After a heavy first year struggle the school has settled in and his intense involvement from about 10% of parents to help the very outsanding principal.The music and arts programs have improved greatly. The campus is small and has no grass or field so PE suffers.Principal has increased the quality of teachers and academics in a short period
—Submitted by a parent

My son only attended 8th grade here, but it was a benefical year for him, I felt this school would be better suited for his needs, small population which resulted in smaller class size, and greatteacher to student ratio. The academic curriculum is sound, the sports are pretty average for the middle school level. The arts are great my son came playing the trumpet and learned so much since his enrollment, he also draws very well but they now have a new art teacher who is farily new. The administration has a higher than average turn over so that was what was questionable here. Overall I wish he would have attended all 3yrs, but definitely time well spent. Parent involvement is awesome and paramount.
—Submitted by a parent

The curriculum for this school is good and they offer a decent amount of subjects for their students. However there has been a problem with securing a steady principal for reasons I am not quite sure of. I like the teachers at least the ones my son has they seem enthusiastic and eager to educate. Overall I am pleased w/the school . and as you can see the API growth is commendable and going in the right direction.
—Submitted by a parent

We had a rough first year indeed. But that was to be expected. Contrary to what a few self-motivated parents have claimed, the Founders of the School and the Goverannce Board made the tough decisions to replace an incompetent and ineffective principal and some problem teachers and parents. Most of the problem parents and teachers are gone now and the differrence is like night and day. Thanks to our dedicated and diligent Board and Founders, we now have a superior principal who understands the schools goals and knows how to implement them. She is supported by an equally great faculty and staff hired by the Board who worked all summer long without pay to find the best teachers available. The school is moving in the right direction. The faculty, staff, parents and most importantly, the students are happy and achieving thanks to the Founders who stuck it out through tough times.
—Submitted by a parent

Great Kids, great parents. The school has the potential to be one of the best. Very rocky first year. We lost our principal and all but 1 teacher. The Governance Council has much to learn.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has great potential as long as everyone works together to implenment the mission of its visionary founders. This first year was very difficult because a small number of parents tried to take over and some of the teachers didn't really understand what the school was all about. The teacher turnover was high but not unusual for a first year charter. The actual number of teachers who lesft were 9 out of 12. Some of the unruly, pushy parents have left too which will make things better. A new principal who truly understands this school was hired and promeises to set the coarse straight. New, experienced teachers have also been hired with two weeks of professional development set before school begins. Most parents and stundets were quite happy with the first year despite its shortcomings. The second year will be much better and very promissing.
—Submitted by a parent

The first year started with loads of excitement and parent involvement--some excellent teachers as well. By the end of the year most of the teachers had left along with principal--too much meddling fom the founders on the governing council drove them away. The biggest problem of the first year was the different levels of ability in the school (from 3 years below grade level to 3 years above. Instead of being able to address that in the second year, the summer has been spent looking for 12 out of 15 teachers + a new principal.
—Submitted by a parent