The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Aspire Centennial College Preparatory Academy
Aspire Centennial College Preparatory Academy is a public charter middle school serving about sixth through eighth grade in Huntington Park, a dense working-class city in the Gateway Cities area of southeastern Los Angeles County. The school enrolls roughly a half-thousand students, almost all Hispanic and nearly all from families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is even across grades.
The school's academic profile shows a split across subjects. In English language arts, students perform at a modest proficiency rate across all three grades. Mathematics performance is notably weaker, sitting well below English language arts. Science proficiency in eighth grade is also low. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among districts measured in Los Angeles County. Only one year of test data is available, so trends cannot be established.
The school's stated instructional emphasis is on college preparation paired with a Project Lead The Way STEM curriculum, a structured hands-on engineering and computer-science program. This curriculum distinguishes its approach from typical neighborhood middle schools and signals a commitment to technical literacy for students who might otherwise have limited exposure to structured STEM pathways.
A relevant staffing development for families considering this school is the Aspire network's post-pandemic teacher pipeline rebuild. After the pandemic caused steep losses in credentialed teachers across the network, Aspire created an in-house residency program through Alder Graduate School of Education that pays graduate students to work as teachers-in-training. This investment lifted teacher retention across the network substantially, addressing what had been one of the network's vulnerabilities. For a middle school where continuity matters, especially at the sixth-to-eighth transition, stable staffing is worth noting as a recent operational strength.
Huntington Park itself is highly walkable and densely populated, with a vibrant commercial core along Pacific Boulevard anchored by Latino-owned bakeries, small restaurants, and retail. Civic amenities include a recently renovated library at the Civic Center, parks, and robust public transit including Metro bus lines and the A Line light rail. The city is pursuing infill and mixed-use development rather than sprawl, with a Downtown Specific Plan organizing transit-oriented growth around the central business district. The housing market in the area is modest by county standards; median home values sit somewhat below the state average.
This is a small, focused school serving an overwhelmingly low-income, predominantly Hispanic student population in a pedestrian-friendly, working-class urban setting. The STEM curriculum and teacher-retention stability offer specific structure to families seeking those elements. The current academic performance, particularly in math and science, is below typical county benchmarks and may warrant conversation with the school about instructional strategy and student support if accelerated progress is a priority for a prospective student.
See more original research from School Decision →