Charter Schools in the City of Los Angeles A shift in Public Education Paul Dunoguez UP 206A Geographic Information Systems November 2, 2010

Charter Schools in Los Angeles “Green Dot Public Schools is leading the charge to transform public education in Los Angeles and beyond so that all children receive the education they need to be successful in college, leadership, and life. With Green Dot's success to date, we are demonstrating that public schools can do a far better job of educating students if they are operated more effectively.”* Enrollment in LAUSD fell below 680,000 students in the 2009-10 school year, nearly a 10 percent decline since its peak seven years ago, and it's expected to continue declining. One out of every 10 students at LAUSD was enrolled at a charter school. Los Angeles Unified continues to serve more charter school students than any other district in the nation, with just over 68,000 children enrolled at the independent, publicly funded campuses. The high prevalence of charters presents financial challenges for LAUSD because the alternative schools are funded independently and are not required to hire district staff. ª Sources: *Green Dot Website (http://www.greendot.org/); ª Los Angeles Daily News (11/01/2010)

Findings Further Examination Charter Schools are primarily located in low-income neighborhoods. They are growing in number, but are highly concentrated in the South LA/South Central LA area. Further Examination Consider what other factors, besides income, can explain Charter School location.

GIS Skills Sources Inset Map Geocoding Geoprocessing Attribute Subset Selections Boundary Sub-sets Selections Buffering Sources American Fact Finder, 2000 American Census US 2000 Census “Report shows charter schools on the rise” Los Angeles Daily News, Connie Llanos (November 1, 2010) Los Angeles Unified School District (www.lausd.net) Green Dot Public Schools (http://www.greendot.org/)