Original Research by School Decision on Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High
Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High is an alternative school serving grades ten through twelve in El Monte, a working-class, predominantly Hispanic city in Los Angeles County with a transit station and a developing downtown corridor. The school is part of El Monte Union High School District.
Ledesma serves a population of students with substantial economic need; a very large majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a small Asian enrollment; enrollment data for English learners and students with IEPs was not available.
The school is small, with the large majority of its enrollment in grade twelve and the remainder in grade eleven. One student is enrolled in grade ten. This grade distribution is typical of continuation schools, which serve students who need an alternative pathway to graduation, often those who have fallen behind in a traditional high school setting.
Academic performance is very low across measured subjects. In English language arts, proficiency reached about one in six students. In mathematics, proficiency was in the single digits. In science, about one in ten students met proficiency standards. Only the most recent school year's data was available, so it is not possible to discern whether these results represent a starting point, a pattern, or a trajectory. State testing data does not include a graduation rate for this school; a parent may want to request graduation and completion data directly from the school or district to understand how many students earn a diploma or complete the continuation program.
Continuation schools by design serve students whose educational path has diverged from the traditional high school model. They exist precisely because some students need a different structure, smaller class sizes, or pace. Low state test proficiency on its own is not unusual for continuation schools and does not tell the full story of what the school provides. What matters more is whether students are advancing toward graduation, whether the school's structure meets an individual student's learning pace, and whether the instruction addresses the specific reasons a student chose or was referred to the continuation track. A family considering Ledesma would want to understand what its academic support, course load, schedule, and completion pathways actually look like, and how the school works with students who have struggled in traditional settings.
El Monte Union High School District has developed its own ethnic studies curriculum as a lasting district-wide change, building toward California's statewide ethnic studies graduation requirement. This curriculum includes hundreds of lesson plans and draws on licensed indigenous art, poetry, and oral histories.
The city of El Monte itself is a mix of residential, retail, and manufacturing uses. Downtown Main Street and Valley Boulevard function as a walkable core with restaurants, shops, and a farmers market with a concert series. The El Monte transit station is one of the largest bus hubs in the western United States and sits at the center of the city's transit-oriented development strategy. Affordable housing is rising around the station, and the city has historically built more low-income housing than its neighbors, though housing affordability remains a pressure. Parks range from small neighborhood spaces to the ten-acre Mountain View Park. The median household income in the region is substantial, but housing costs relative to income are high; monthly rent is expected to consume a significant portion of household income.
State assessment data was not provided for comparison to other Los Angeles County districts. District-level graduation rates and chronic absenteeism data were also not available. A parent seeking to understand how Ledesma compares to other schools in its district or county on these outcomes would need to request that information from the school or district directly.
See more original research from School Decision →