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The Gabriella Charter School (GCS) is a K−5
dance−themed public elementary charter
school, one of the first of its kind in the United
States. Its 152 students take one hour of
dance per day, and dance is infused into the
standards−based curriculum. GCS is nestled in
a shaded, tree−lined mixed−use historic site
that the school shares with an affordable
housing project in the densely−populated
Rampart community just west of downtown Los
Angeles.
Students range in age from 5−11, and are
divided between 68 boys and 83 girls. Nine
percent (9%) of students receive special
education services. Although the
overwhelming majority of GCS students are
first−generation Central American immigrants
(77%), the GCS student body is a diverse
group that encompasses a significant
percentage of other ethnicities, including
Korean (10%), African American (9%), White,
not of Hispanic Origin (2%) and Filipino (2%)
students. Approximately 84% of GCS students
have parents that are first generation
immigrants, 87% of the students are English
Language Learners and 91% of the students
qualify for the Free and Reduced Nutrition
Program.
A culture of high expectations inspires GCS
primarily low−income, English Language
Learners to achieve at a level comparable to
their more socio−economically advantaged
peers. The school’s API scores since its 2005
opening have exceeded each year the State’s
benchmark target of 800, making it one of the
city’s top−performing elementary schools. In
2006, GCS was described in Los Angeles
Magazine as “one of sixty great elementary
schools you should know about.” The School
has received awards for excellence and
innovation from the Siart Foundation and the
Insight Education Consulting Group and has
been fully accredited by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges.
GCS was founded in 2005 as an outgrowth of
the non−profit Gabriella Axelrad Education
Foundation’s community−based everybody
dance! after−school program. Opened in
2000, everybody dance! provides over 150
weekly classes to more than 1000 inner−city
children in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, modern
and theater dance.
Inspired by the ability of the dance program to
motivate students academically and in
response to repeated parental requests for an
academic program with the high engagement
level and challenging standards associated with
the dance program, the Foundation’s board
committed to open a charter school which
would draw upon the discipline, creativity and
cognitive aspects of dance to engage children
to become more active learners and to
enhance academic skill−building by integrating
dance throughout the curriculum.
GCS has been identified as a 2010 Title I
Academic Achievement Award recipient
because it met the 2008 and 2009 Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria and the 2008
and 2009 Growth Academic Performance Index
(API) targets both for the school overall and
for all numerically significant subgroups. In
addition, GCS doubled its school- wide API
targets for the past two years. The award
criteria can be found on the California
Department of Education (CDE) Title I
Academic Achievement Award Web page at
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/aa.
SCHOOL LOCATION
1435 Logan Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026
STUDENT ENROLLMENT
GCS has 152 students in grades K−5
20 students in grades K−3; 26 students in
grades 4−5
ACADEMIC SCHEDULE
Traditional schedule, September – June
School hours: 8:00 − 3:30, 1:30 dismissal on
Thursdays when staff attends professional
development.
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