Original Research by School Decision on Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day
Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day is a small alternative high school in south Los Angeles, serving students in grades nine through twelve. Located on South Grandee Avenue in a residential part of the city, the school operates as a district school within Los Angeles Unified.
The enrollment is very small, concentrated heavily in the twelfth grade. Roughly nine out of ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing them in a low-income population. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a meaningful share who are Black, and minimal enrollment of other racial or ethnic groups. Data on students with special education plans and English learners was not available.
No state assessment results are publicly available for this school. State testing data for Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day has been suppressed, which is common practice when a school's enrollment is very small. Consequently, there is no basis to assess academic proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, or science relative to other schools or the district. A parent seeking to understand how this school's instruction compares academically to alternatives would need to contact the school directly and ask about curriculum, instruction quality, and student learning outcomes, since the publicly reported metrics do not exist.
The school's context within LAUSD is worth noting. The district has moved forward with several changes that touch every school. In February 2025, LAUSD implemented a district-wide ban on student use of cellphones, smartwatches, and earbuds during the entire school day, including lunch and breaks. Students at most high schools store devices in lockable pouches. Additionally, LAUSD's Black Student Achievement Plan, which funds culturally responsive curriculum and staffing at targeted schools, was restructured in 2024 and received increased funding for the 2025-26 school year. These are systemic shifts affecting school culture and programming across the district.
At the broader city level, Los Angeles is in active growth and housing development, with downtown undergoing significant mixed-use redevelopment ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Voters approved Measure US, the district's largest-ever school facilities bond, which will mean long-term property tax increases for families. For anyone considering a move into the LAUSD area to attend this or another school, that property tax commitment is worth understanding upfront.
The neighborhood around South Grandee Avenue is part of south Los Angeles, a diverse, working-class area of the city with significant commercial and industrial uses alongside residential blocks. Public transit serves the area through Metro bus lines, and the broader region mixes dense, vertical neighborhoods with single-family blocks. Housing in the zip code reflects the regional market, with costs well above national norms but below the state median.
Because Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day is an alternative school serving a very small population, likely students who have experienced interruptions to schooling or require a nontraditional setting, its fit depends on whether a student needs that alternative pathway rather than a comprehensive high school. The school's specific programs, daily schedule, approach to credit recovery, and connections to post-secondary options are factors only the school itself can explain. Any family considering enrollment should ask directly about those features and about student support services, since public performance data is not available.
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