Marguerite Poindexter Lamotte Elementary, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Marguerite Poindexter Lamotte Elementary

Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in south Los Angeles, in a neighborhood along Orchard Avenue in the 90037 zip code. The school is part of Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second-largest school district, and operates as a regular public elementary school.

The student body is small, under five hundred students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with smaller numbers of Black students and very few students from other backgrounds. Demographic and economic data paint a picture of a school serving a deeply low-income community with limited household resources.

State testing results from the most recent year show proficiency rates well below what California schools typically achieve. In English language arts, overall proficiency sits in the low twenties across the tested grades. Mathematics proficiency is lower still, in the midteens. Fifth-grade science proficiency, the only science grade tested at this school, is in the low teens. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of proficiency when compared to other elementary schools across Los Angeles County. A parent may want to look into further what academic supports, interventions, and instructional approaches the school is using to address these performance gaps.

The school exists within a district actively shaping its schools through several large changes. Los Angeles Unified voters approved a major school facilities bond in recent years; families considering this address should know that property taxes in the area are funding long-term construction and renovation work across the district. The district also implemented an all-day cellphone and smartwatch ban across schools, now in effect, which changes the daily school culture and student-parent communication. Additionally, LAUSD's Black Student Achievement Plan, which funds culturally responsive curriculum and additional counseling and support staff at targeted schools, has been restructured and its funding boosted, and may touch this school's instructional approach.

The neighborhood surrounding the school is part of south Los Angeles, a dense urban area with predominantly residential and mixed-use character. Housing in the area is more affordable than many Los Angeles neighborhoods, though the area remains economically strained. The broader city is in an active growth and rezoning phase driven by statewide housing need, and transit access through Metro bus and rail lines connects the area to jobs and services across the region.

For a family considering this school, the core question is what instructional and support resources will help students succeed at a school where proficiency gaps are substantial. Direct conversation with the school's leadership about current academic priorities, staffing, and parent involvement would be essential groundwork.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 48% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 43% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 36% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 44% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 45% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 47% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 29% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

This schoolLos Angeles Unified, 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.