Encouraging students to explore, engage, expand.
LA's BEST empowers students with the agency to choose, explore, and discover within the context of a safe and nurturing environment.
Students in LA’s BEST often face a range of obstacles that can hinder their academic and social development – from exposure to trauma, to under-resourced schools and challenging family environments, and the effects of poverty – but they also bring a wealth of strengths, talents, smarts and perspectives.
We help children learn to communicate and collaborate and to think critically and creatively. We foster drive and self-worth. These characteristics should be nurtured in every child – regardless of their economic circumstances. These are characteristics we want in the next generation of Angelenos.
“If it weren’t for LA’s BEST, I can’t imagine how I could have found my path.
So many other kids from my neighborhood weren’t so lucky. They didn’t have the kind of support and resources that LA’s BEST provides at no cost to families like mine.” ‒ Cynthia Gomez, LA’s BEST alumna
On average, 90% of students attending LA’s BEST schools are considered “low income,” receiving free and reduced lunch.
(Source: Los Angeles Unified School District.)