Location: Los Angeles, CA
Are you a student or parent at Westchester Secondary Charter School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Westchester Secondary Charter available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Westchester Secondary Charter is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Westchester Secondary Charter students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Westchester Secondary Charter
- Every sports team you can join at Westchester Secondary Charter
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Westchester Secondary Charter School is a public school, supporting grades 6 to 12 . It's located in Los Angeles, CA in Los Angeles County.
Based on its location, Westchester Secondary Charter is classified as a school in a large city. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Westchester Secondary Charter School8820 Sepulveda E.way Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone number: 3102166800
Westchester Secondary Charter School homepage: http://www.westchestercharter.org/
Principal: Janet LandonEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Westchester Secondary Charter School is 212 students, making it a somewhat small high school, in the bottom half of all California high schools by size.
As a smaller-sized high school, Westchester Secondary Charter will feel like a cozy learning environment. With fewer than 100 students in your class, you'll likely get to know most other students and your teachers well. This will give you the feeling of a small liberal arts college.
But with a smaller student body, you won't have as many activities and clubs to choose from. If you find Westchester Secondary Charter lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is Westchester Secondary Charter School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Westchester Secondary Charter has increased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 18 | 23 | 41 |
| 10th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 41 students larger than the senior class. This suggests that the school is growing in size and taking on more students.
There are a few reasons this could be happening. The city of Los Angeles could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Westchester Secondary Charter. Alternatively, Westchester Secondary Charter could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Westchester Secondary Charter School?
From our statistics, Westchester Secondary Charter has a 44:56 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large female majority at Westchester Secondary Charter, and the imbalance is greater than you would expect from the general population in Los Angeles County. As a result, it'll feel like there are a lot more girls than boys in your classes.
Sometimes this imbalance can result from random chance and may not suggest anything about Westchester Secondary Charter. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for females (if it has its own admissions criteria), or parents with female kids might prefer to send them to Westchester Secondary Charter. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract male students, drawing them away from Westchester Secondary Charter.
If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting Westchester Secondary Charter administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 3102166800.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at Westchester Secondary Charter School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Westchester Secondary Charter has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as Westchester Secondary Charter does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.
The majority of students at Westchester Secondary Charter are self-identifying as belonging to two or more races. 2.8% of all California high school students identify with two or more races, and Westchester Secondary Charter is notable in showing a majority of students of this group.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.0% | 0 |
| Asian | 2.3% | 5 |
| Hispanic | 3.7% | 8 |
| Black | 14.1% | 30 |
| White | 4.7% | 10 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 75.0% | 159 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Los Angeles. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.
Income Level of Westchester Secondary Charter Families
What are the family incomes of students at Westchester Secondary Charter School? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.
To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.
To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.
The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.
At Westchester Secondary Charter, 6.6% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 33.0% qualify for free lunches.
This means Westchester Secondary Charter has a low poverty level. The overwhelming majority of students at Westchester Secondary Charter don't qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Los Angeles is thus likely to be an affluent community, with quite high family incomes.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 14 | 6.6% |
| Free lunches | 70 | 33.0% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 128 | 60.3% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Los Angeles and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Because Westchester Secondary Charter is in the top quartile of schools by family income, it's likely to be well-funded relative to other high schools in California. This means you'll likely have access to advanced coursework like AP/IB classes and better-funded extracurriculars and sports.
It's still up to you, though, to take advantage of the resources Westchester Secondary Charter has to offer. If you work hard and spend your time effectively, you'll likely be well positioned to succeed in college and beyond.
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School Safety
How safe is Westchester Secondary Charter School to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?
To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at Westchester Secondary Charter: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.
These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other Westchester Secondary Charter students at risk.
Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:
Los Angeles County Office Of Education School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Polytechnic High | 0 | 0 | 514 |
| Soledad Enrichment Action Charter High | 0 | 0 | 1170 |
| East Los Angeles Community Day | 0 | 0 | 283 |
| Renaissance Community Day | 0 | 0 | 401 |
| L.a. County High School For The Arts | 0 | 0 | 617 |
| Los Angeles County Special Education | 0 | 0 | 2101 |
Academic Offerings
In addition to the standard high school curriculum, many high schools like Westchester Secondary Charter School offer advanced coursework as part of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.
Brief Intro to AP/IB
AP and IB courses are designed at the difficulty level of college introductory classes. There are several important benefits to taking advanced coursework at Westchester Secondary Charter. First, taking more advanced classes shows colleges that you're committed to challenging yourself academically, and that you're one of the more advanced students at Westchester Secondary Charter. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.
Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Westchester Secondary Charter AP/IB coursework as college coursework. In some cases, you'll be able to skip introductory-level classes and move to more advanced classes. In other cases, you'll be able to avoid having to take required courses and might even be able to graduate earlier than the standard 4 years. Often this will require you to pass the AP test, getting a score of 3 or above.
So what advanced courses does Westchester Secondary Charter School offer?
AP Courses
Westchester Secondary Charter School offers AP courses in 5 subjects.
This is a relatively low number of AP subjects, putting Westchester Secondary Charter School in the bottom 50% of California schools offering AP courses. You'll likely be able to take the most popular courses like Calculus, English, and US History, but you won't have most other subjects available.
The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Westchester Secondary Charter is missing most. If you want to take any AP courses not being offered at Westchester Secondary Charter, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap. If you're a strong student, you might consider transferring schools to access a more advanced curriculum.
Of course, keep in mind that even though Westchester Secondary Charter doesn't offer many AP courses, it might teach the ones it does offer quite well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.
The following AP courses were offered at Westchester Secondary Charter during 2015-2016:
| Course Title |
|---|
| English Language and Composition |
| Environmental Science |
| Microeconomics |
| United States History |
| World History |
Sports Teams
Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Westchester Secondary Charter School. Sports are an integral part of many students' high school experiences. The more sports that are available, and the more levels supported (Frosh, JV, Varsity), the more likely you'll be able to participate in a sport at Westchester Secondary Charter.
By the way, the Westchester Secondary Charter mascot is the Thunderbirds. Go Thunderbirds!
Westchester Secondary Charter School fields 1 teams for boys' sports. This low number puts Westchester Secondary Charter in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer boys' sports. If you play a sport that Westchester Secondary Charter doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.
| Boys Teams | Girls Teams |
|---|---|
| Basketball
Var
|
What’s Next?
Want to get more useful information about high school classes and preparing for colleges? Our blog has a ton of articles and advice on topics ranging from coursework and GPA to letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and much more!
Ready to bulk up your schedule and maximize your college preparedness? Read all about the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Not quite in high school yet, but eager to get started? We've also got information for younger students interested in advanced learning opportunities, both in and out of school.
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Sources
The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):
- National Center for Educational Statistics CCD 2013-2014
- "Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?", NCES Blog
- CRDC 2011-2012 school year data
- California Department of Education SAT, ACT, and AP Test Results
- IBO.org