Educating Students to become Agents of Social Change

Community members face great economic and educational barriers. Specifically, the annual income within our community is the lowest in Los Angeles; the average median income is $11,476. The poverty rate in the area is 35% compared with the citywide rate of 18%. Additionally, our community has the highest percentage of severe overcrowding in Los Angeles, the lowest English fluency rate, and the lowest availability of automobiles. In the face of these challenges, Camino Nuevo successfully serves the MacArthur Park neighborhood, providing students with a high quality, college-preparatory educational program.

Our charter school is constantly working to close the achievement gap. Our API (Academic Performance Index) has increased from 651 in 2005 to 859 in 2010. While we continue to improve and experience gains in student achievement every year, we find a continuous desire to innovate our practice and increase the rigor of our instruction. We have come to realize that our success comes from this constant desire for growth and professionalism.

In our mission, we state that we are educating students to be critical readers, writers, and problem solvers who are also agents of social change. Currently we worry that our students will be limited in their education and professional lives, as well as in their ability to be agents of social change. The professional learning community of Camino Nuevo strives to exemplify the mission of the school alongside our students, their families, and our community. It is our mission to nurture powerful writers who see the value in their knowledge and their community. We hope it will empower them within the community.