Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, San Fernando CA

Original Research by School Decision on Vaughn Next Century Learning Center

Vaughn Next Century Learning Center is a charter school serving kindergarten through grade twelve in San Fernando, a small, densely populated city in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The school enroll a substantial portion of San Fernando's school-age population, spanning the full K-12 continuum on contiguous campuses.

The student body is overwhelmingly Latino. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the community. The school does not report data on students receiving special education services or classified as English learners, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about these support systems and their capacity to serve students with identified disabilities or those still acquiring English.

State testing results show the school is performing below the midpoint among Los Angeles County districts. On the most recent California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress exams, English language arts proficiency rates ranged from the low thirties to low forties across the tested grades. Math proficiency rates were markedly lower, ranging from the low teens to around thirty percent depending on grade. Science results, where tested, similarly showed proficiency in the range of roughly thirteen to nineteen percent. These are modest results that reflect significant instructional challenges. A parent may want to look into further details about how the school is addressing these gaps, what remedial or intensive support is available, and what grade-level progression looks like for students entering below proficiency.

The school offers the full K-12pathway, which means families can remain in the school through high school without transition. However, no high school-specific outcomes data such as Advanced Placement enrollment, college readiness indicators, or graduation rates were available in the provided information. A parent with a high school student should ask the school about its course offerings, pathways to college, career and technical programs, and how it supports students in meeting graduation requirements and planning for life after secondary school.

San Fernando itself is the oldest city in the San Fernando Valley, known for its tight-knit, predominantly Hispanic character and a compact, relatively walkable downtown anchored by the San Fernando Mall and civic institutions along San Fernando Road. The city is on a growth trajectory, with housing development proposals aimed at adding new units under state mandates, and a major catalyst approaching: Metro's East San Fernando Valley Light Rail project, scheduled to open with service along Van Nuys Boulevard reaching San Fernando Road. That transit investment may reshape the economic and residential landscape of the immediate area in coming years. Housing values in the San Fernando zip code reflect a working- and middle-income market. A family considering the school should factor in both the academic profile and the longer-term development context of the city.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 156 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 335%

School 35% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income36%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income18%3 pp gap