Original Research by School Decision on Citizens of the World Charter School Silver Lake District
Citizens of the World Charter School Silver Lake District operates a single elementary and middle school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Los Angeles County. The district is small, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the grade span, and the student body is diverse: roughly half the students are Hispanic, with Asian, white, and multiracial students each representing substantial shares as well. African American students also attend. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch counts or rates, nor does it report the share of students receiving special education services or English learner status, so a family interested in how the school serves low-income families or students with identified disabilities or English learning needs would want to contact the school directly for those details.
The school reported no state testing data, which reflects the reality that California does not test students in the elementary grades where most of this district's enrollment sits. Only eighth grade takes state assessments, so an overall academic picture from state testing is unavailable. However, the district brief notes that reading proficiency at the school runs above the state average, while math proficiency is near or slightly below. Families should view that information as a starting point and ask the school for fuller recent results and trend data if academics are a primary factor in their choice.
A defining recent change is the opening of a new, permanent middle school campus in 2024. Until then, sixth through eighth graders attended classes split across two separate locations: sixth grade at one annex and seventh and eighth grades in a co-location at another school. The new building, located a short distance from the elementary site, now houses all middle schoolers in a single facility with dedicated arts, theater, and STEM classrooms, a library, a full gymnasium, and an outdoor basketball court. This consolidation creates a stable, purpose-built pathway for students moving through the school and eliminates the logistical fragmentation that families previously navigated. For families drawn to the school, staying within the network through middle school is now straightforward.
The school's approach centers on social-emotional learning alongside academics. The district brief indicates that the school has invested recently in strengthening its core academic programs in English language arts and math, with dedicated intervention supports. This signals an intentional effort to balance the school's established focus on student wellbeing with renewed rigor in foundational subjects. A parent considering the school would want to ask how these interventions work and for whom they are designed, particularly if reading or math support is relevant to their child.
Among Los Angeles County's districts, the school operates in the middle-to-upper range for per-pupil current spending. Chronic absenteeism runs below the midpoint for the county, which is a positive signal that families and students are showing up, though the rate is still meaningful enough that a parent might want to understand the school's attendance culture and any challenges the school sees. No graduation rate is available, which is expected since the school serves only through eighth grade and does not have a graduating cohort.
The school is a charter school, which means it operates outside the traditional district structure and is publicly funded but independently governed. The school's website signals an active, engaged community, and the recent infrastructure investment in the middle school campus suggests stability and growth in the organization. For families in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles seeking a small, diverse, charter-based K-8 pathway with recent academic and facility improvements, this school offers a genuine alternative, though families should request recent academic data and meet with staff to understand the school's specific support systems and whether they align with their child's needs.
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