Principal's Message
Celebrating Over 45 Years of Excellence
California Distinguished School
National Blue Ribbon School
Magnet Schools of America Certified
WASC Accredited
Newsweek’s Top 100 High Schools in America
US News’ Gold Medal School
Greetings!
Welcome to LACES! Please explore our website to discover the amazing things we are doing on our campus. We invite you to contact our Magnet Office to learn more about us and to gain access to our virtual tour. LACES opened its doors in September 1977, the first Magnet school established as part of the District's voluntary integration program. We have been striving for and demonstrating excellence ever since.
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) is a full magnet program in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The LAUSD Integration Programs such as magnets exist as a mechanism to racially integrate Los Angeles schools. The LACES student body is very diverse. Currently, the demographics are 31% Hispanic, 27% White, 19% Asian, 19% Black, and 4% other. LACES enrolls students in grades 6-12. There is an application process, however, non-racial criteria such as test scores, grades, or socio-economic level are not considered. Currently, 54% of the student body qualifies for free/reduced lunch meals. We meet or exceed our district’s and state’s targets on state assessments and on other measures such as graduation and attendance rates. We have outstanding Visual/Performing Arts and sports programs that are growing and thriving.
LACES' Unicorns emphasize academic excellence through mastery of our Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):
Learn to Solve Problems Critically/Creatively
Act Ethically, Respectfully, Responsibly
Communicate Effectively, Precisely, Succinctly
Embrace and Encourage Individuality/Diversity
Support Family, School, and Community
We promote safety and community by embodying the U-House Way daily:
Be Respectful; Be Responsible; and Be Ready (Prepared).
Our robust Restorative Justice Program and Mindfulness practices also help to build community and strengthen relationships across campus. All LACES students participate in a challenging college-bound curriculum. The average LACES student completes seven Advanced Placement courses by graduation. The percentage of students scoring 3 or better on AP exams exceeds the national average. We also offer concurrent enrollment with community colleges where students can begin to earn college credit. We offer two Career and Technical Education pathways (CTE), Computer Science and Culinary Arts where certification is available. LACES consistently produces graduating classes of distinction with numerous valedictorians and AP Scholars.
We celebrate the Graduating Class of 2024, who achieved a 100% graduation rate. They have been accepted to and attending many colleges and universities across the country and abroad, including highly selective ones. Last school year, we were honored to receive 2023-2024 Advanced Placement Honor Roll Platinum School & the Advanced Placement Access Award for providing AP access to all students, increasing the number of students taking AP courses, and creating a college-going culture.
Other accomplishments for the Class of 2024 include:
96 Valedictorians
3 National Merit Scholarship Winners
4 National Merit Commended Finalists
35 AP Scholars with Distinction
1 AP Seminar and Research Certificate
17 AP Scholars with Honors
41 AP Scholars
91 Superintendent Honor Roll Recipients
86 Bi-literacy Seal Bearers
2 POSSE Finalists
2 Council of International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Scholarship Recipients
1 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Finalist
1 Ron Brown Scholar
1 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Recipient
1 Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Recipient
We are an environment of learning, nurturing students who are not only college-prepared and career ready, but who are also future leaders and positive contributors to society. GO UNICORNS!
Kimberly Lesure
LACES Principal
(323) 549-5916
