Los Amigos - Dual Immersion, Palmdale CA

Original Research by School Decision on Los Amigos - Dual Immersion

Los Amigos - Dual Immersion is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade alternative school in Palmdale, operated by the Palmdale Elementary district. Its defining characteristic is its dual immersion program, which means instruction runs in both English and Spanish across the grade span. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, so families should expect a peer community that reflects Palmdale's predominantly Latino, working-class character.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed. English language arts proficiency is stronger than math across most tested grades. In ELA, the school reaches or exceeds roughly half of students at several grade levels, with seventh grade standing out as a notably higher point. Math proficiency is more uneven: fourth grade is the strongest, but third, fifth, sixth, and eighth grades all fall below that mark, with eighth-grade math and eighth-grade science both showing particularly modest shares of students meeting the standard. Taken together, across all tested subjects and grades, the school sits below the midpoint relative to districts in Los Angeles County. That context matters for parents who are comparing options. A parent who wants to dig into grade-level trends over time will find limited help here, because the current data covers only a single year, so there is no multi-year trajectory to examine.

The school is classified as an alternative school, which can sometimes explain gaps in standard metrics. No graduation rate applies, as the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data and disability or English learner population rates were not available in the data we reviewed. The school holds no charter or magnet designation.

The district has been active on a few fronts worth knowing. Voters passed a general obligation bond measure a few years ago to fund roof replacements, safety upgrades, energy improvements, and modernization of STEM and arts labs; that work is underway and is funded through local property taxes. The district also made a substantial investment in classroom technology, including one-to-one Chromebooks and interactive panels districtwide, along with a bilingual early-literacy program aimed at English learners, who make up roughly a third of the district's students. Separately, the district acquired a high school and has been reconfiguring its grade structure, including moving sixth grade to the middle school level and extending school days.

Palmdale itself is a high-desert suburban city on the northern edge of Los Angeles County, anchored economically by aerospace and defense. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing all operate near Air Force Plant 42, and that industrial base shapes the local economy more than retail or services do. Most daily life requires a car; the city is working toward greater walkability in its general plan, but that is a future goal rather than a present reality. A regional transit hub connects Metrolink rail service toward Los Angeles Union Station for those who commute. The housing market here sits well below the California statewide median, and notably below what most of the rest of Los Angeles County commands, though the price-to-income ratio still reflects the national affordability strain. Rental cost relative to income is also elevated. The city's population has been roughly flat or slightly declining from its 2020 peak, though a major pipeline of infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail connections, keeps long-term development ambitions on the table.

For a family drawn to Spanish-English bilingual instruction in a community where Spanish is the dominant home language, Los Amigos offers a genuine dual immersion pathway through eighth grade. The math results are worth a direct conversation with the school, particularly for students heading into middle school grades where the numbers are softer.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 23% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 17% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 15% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 16% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 13% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 26% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 27% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 32% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 28% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 766%

School 66% · District 34% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 32% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 17% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 13% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 38% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

This schoolPalmdale Elementary, 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 3Lower-income39%Higher-income64%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income54%Higher-income70%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income59%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income67%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income67%Higher-income62%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income60%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income64%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income67%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income37%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income48%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income38%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income35%13 pp gap