LAUSD Opens California's First All-Girls STEM Academy
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A grand opening ceremony celebrated Los Angeles Unified School District's first single-gender school, one of two such campuses set to open in the area this academic year.
The Girls Academic Leadership Academy aims to boost girls' interest in science, technology, engineering and math. GALA is the district's first single-gender school, and the first to open in the state in nearly 20 years, according to the district.
The school, located on the campus of Los Angeles High School in the Mid-City area, will open with classes in grades six through nine. District officials say an additional class will likely be added annually, ultimately reaching a student population of 700 students by the 2019-20 school year.
The school's inaugural class includes students from 69 public and private schools from 49 ZIP codes across the area, according to the district.
"They're just amazing, intelligent, curious, wonderful girls," principal Elizabeth Hicks said. "And we hope that they develop and keep their voice from middle school all the way through high school."
A second all-girls campus, the Girls Academic Leadership School, will also open this year in Panorama City. That campus is a district-authorized charter school modeled after a successful public high school in Denver.
An all-boys school on the campus of Washington Preparatory High School is scheduled to open in the 2017-18 school year.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
