East Los Angeles Charter School KIPP SOL Academy will continue to open Tuesday evening after a 4-3 vote by the Board of Education.
Hundreds of students, parents and staff created the Hale Mary Pitch in Downey on Tuesday evening, keeping the school alive. The school provided a bus to take families to vote.
Help Save KIPP Sol📣 Next Tuesday, the LA County Education Department will vote for an update on our charter. They need to show up with all their might to protect the school community. ✊🏽
📍9300 Imperial Hwy. , Downey, CA
🗓 Tuesday, April 1st, 3pm
➡➡️RSVP: https://t.co/lltdh98sbm pic.twitter.com/spkrk3tt1e
– Kipp Socal Public Schools (@kippsocal) March 25, 2025
“They are trying to close my home by having them close schools,” said fifth grade Monique Velasquez.
He is known for his unique extracurricular programs such as Mariachi and Folklore Dance.
According to a report submitted by LAUSD in January, schools are unable to make sufficient progress in meeting district standards, and are unable to make a measurable increase in school-wide academic performance, making it unlikely to successfully implement the proposed petition program.
School leaders believe that they are working to improve the school and that the decline in performance is a long-term residual effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ve been awarded the California Schools Award,” said Angela Martinez, CEO of Kipp Socal Public Schools. “We’ve increased the results, and in my opinion it’s my opinion to close schools based on the decline in years after the pandemic.”
The school was able to overcome the odds thanks to the school board’s vote.
Angela Martinez, CEO of KIPP SoCal Public Schools, said:
With the advantage of voting, schools renew their charter, but operate under the Los Angeles County Department of Education, not under the Los Angeles Unified School District. That charter status remains for five years.
