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Pilot Schools

What are Pilot Schools?

Pilot schools are given charter-like freedoms and are expected to be models of educational innovation. They are
also expected to serve as research and development sites for effective urban public schools. Pilot schools enjoy
maximum control over:

  • Staff selection
  • Budget control
  • Autonomy from central office curriculum requirements: teachers choose content, have flexibility over teaching and assessment practices, promotion and graduation requirements
  • Professional Development
  • Governance
  • Autonomy to set the length of the school day and year for both students and faculty
  • In addition, Pilot School teachers hire and evaluate the school’s principal each year, and may transfer out at the end of the year if they so desire.

Pilot School Update (Dec 16, 2009)

Limited Expansion of Pilot Schools
The UTLA House of Reps overwhelmingly approved an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that allows limited expansion of Pilot Schools. The MOU had been previously endorsed by the UTLA Board of Directors on December 10. (Read more...)

- Read MOU text (Los Angeles Pilot School Agreement) (Dec.2, 2009)
- Detailed explanation of of MOU

List of Pilot Schools

- Belmont Pilot School Background Information
- Belmont Pilot School Agreement

In 2007, two schools opened:

  1. The Los Angeles High School of the Arts (LAHSA) on the Belmont campus.
  2. The Civitas School of Leadership (Civitas Sol) on the Roybal Learning Complex campus.
In 2008, three schools opened:
  1. The Academic Leadership Community High School (ALC) on the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex campus.
  2. The Los Angeles Teacher Preparatory High School (LATP) on the Belmont campus.
  3. The High School for the Visual Arts and Humanities (SVAH) on the Roybal Learning Complex campus.

In 2009, four schools will open:

  1. An SLC at the Helen Bernstein Complex (STEM) - converting to Pilot Status
  2. A high school (The Libra Academy) - opening on the Huntington Park High School campus
  3. New Open World Academy (NOW) - opening at the Ambassador site - K-5 and expand to K-12 in 2010
  4. The UCLA Community School (UCS). - opening at the Ambassador site - K-5 and expand to K-12 in 2010

In 2010, two new schools are scheduled to open:

  1. International Studies Academy (Grades 6-12)
  2. A K-5 school on the Ambassador site.