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Schools

First 'Middle School' in Weho History Coming this Fall

Laurel Expanding to Offer 7th Grade, with 55 students already enrolled.

Here's a pop quiz:  This fall, for the first time in its 25-year history, West Hollywood will have its very own middle school--yes or no?

The answer is technically no, but yes in spirit.  The middle "school" will actually be a 7th-grade  classroom at Laurel Elementary. And Laurel, a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade elementary school, lies just outside of West Hollywood's borders on North Hayworth Avenue near Willoughby Avenue in the city of Los Angeles.

The only public school within West Hollywood limits is West Hollywood Elementary. Other public schools serving the estimated 1,000 students living in city include Rosewood Elementary, Burroughs and Bancroft middle schools and Fairfax High.

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But, yes, West Hollywood 7th-graders will now be able to attend middle school at Laurel, where current enrollment tops out at about 250 students, small by the standards of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

"The deciding factor about which school to choose was that Laurel School had the necessary classroom space to accommodate the incoming K-7 class," said Maureen Diekmann, director of school services for the LAUSD's Local District 4.

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The impetus for the 7th grade came from two parents, Jamie Adler and Joanne Palmer. What prompted these two women to run with the idea, according to Councilwoman Abbe Land, "was that Weho spirit of being actively engaged in their own community."

Laurel students come from diverse backgrounds, and as many as 26 languages are spoken among the campus population. The school emphasizes "academics, social consciousness and the arts," according to its media materials and partners with the city of West Hollywood and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for resources. West Hollywood recently donated several used computers to the middle school program.

The city is also studying the possibility of creating a charter school to serve its students. In May, the City Council authorized $6,000 for such a study.

LAUSD school board member Steve Zimmer helped line up support to get the Laurel project approved. "The right timing played an important role in letting us move forward," he said.  "It didn't have to take a huge letter-writing campaign to see it through."

Amy Diaz has been hired as principal, and about 55 students are enrolled. Two LAUSD teachers will be brought in,  Diekmann said.

"It will take a certain kind of teacher with a vision who can mentor these kids," Diekmann said. "One who can rise to the challenge and transition these kids from elementary to middle school."

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