N.e.w. Academy of Science and Arts, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on N.e.w. Academy of Science and Arts

N.E.W. Academy of Science and Arts is a small charter school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in downtown Los Angeles, with an enrollment of around a hundred students per grade. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school squarely in a low-income urban context. The school earned recognition in recent years as a California Distinguished School, a state designation tied to academic performance and school climate.

Academically, the school faces significant headwinds. On the most recent state testing data available, proficiency rates are below the midpoint when compared to other schools across Los Angeles County. In English language arts, about two in five students tested as proficient across grades three through five, with performance varying by grade. In mathematics, results are weaker, with proficiency ranging from around one in five students in fifth grade to roughly half in fourth grade. In science, only a small fraction of fifth graders met proficiency standards. These numbers suggest that while the school is working to build academic skills, many students are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks in the core subjects tested by the state. No prior-year data is available to determine whether these results represent growth, stability, or decline.

The school's name and mission signal a focus on science and the arts as organizing themes. The school also operates a dual-language program serving Spanish and English, which is a structured program choice for families seeking bilingual education. For families who value that approach and are committed to supporting their child through the below-grade-level proficiency performance shown in the data, the school offers a deliberate instructional model. A parent may want to look into the school's plans for improving academic outcomes and ask what the school sees as barriers to higher proficiency, and what supports are available for students who are not yet meeting standards.

The school sits in downtown Los Angeles, an area in active transformation with major housing, transit, and commercial development underway in preparation for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. The area is increasingly mixed-use and walkable, with Metro rail and bus access. Housing values in the zip code have declined modestly in the past year and remain below the state median, though rents have stayed relatively steady. This is an urban, dense, transit-accessible location rather than a suburban school setting.

As a charter school, N.E.W. Academy operates under a authorization agreement with Los Angeles Unified School District. The school underwent a charter renewal process and holds a current term. For any family considering enrollment, the stability of that charter authorization is a fundamental fact; families should confirm the current status and renewal timeline with the school directly.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · district not reported

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

Grade 446%

School 46% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · district not reported

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 11 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.