A Message from the Principal

Welcome to Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School (AJR)!

A part of the Green Dot Public Schools California network, we are a charter high school established in July 2006 with a mission of transforming the way young adults are educated in the inner city of South Los Angeles. Green Dot Public Schools is a Charter Management Organization (CMO) that operates 24 public secondary schools in Los Angeles and Memphis serving over 13,000 students across the nation. Green Dot is a non-profit organization that seeks to transform public education in historically-underserved urban communities in order to provide students with increased access to a rigorous college-prep education. In doing this, Green Dot’s mission is to ensure that all students graduate prepared for college, leadership and life.

Our school community is situated just east of the University of Southern California. To date, we have had 14 graduating classes of approximately 145 students each. Our current enrollment is approximately 630 students in grades 9-12. Demographically, we serve a population of low income minority students, most of whom will become first generation college students. Our population is 93% Latino and 7% African American, with over 98% of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. This school year, 13% of our students have special needs, and 13% are English Learners.

Our school is a Proposition 39 school, co-located on the campus of William J. Clinton Middle School, a Los Angeles Unified school. We have been able to establish a positive, cohesive relationship with the staff and students at Clinton, primarily due to our collaboration, consistency, and the fact that most of our students attended Clinton during grades six, seven, and eight.

Our intention is to continue working to carry out our school mission and to provide an education for our community that will equip our resilient, self-reliant, and compassionate students with the skills necessary for success in college, career, and their adult lives.

In our brief history, we have been able to establish an authentic, family environment, where students and adults feel that they are part of a community aimed at nurturing their success. Each year we traditionally enroll about 30 students who are in some way related to our current students or recent graduates.

AJR offers a comprehensive college-preparatory academic program. All students are enrolled in courses that meet the A-G requirements for the California State University/University of California college systems. All senior students must apply to at least three California State Universities as a graduation requirement. Our aim is that all our students graduate college-ready, having completed our A-G program with a C or better grade in each A-G course. Although we have not yet achieved that goal 100%, we are increasing the number of students graduating college-ready each year. In 2019-20, we were able to have a 76% A-G graduation rate. At AJR we offer a significant number of Honors and AP courses to our advanced students in an effort to increase their college-readiness. We also offer a comprehensive Special Education program and a substantial intervention program for struggling learners. We pride ourselves on the fact that we have established a safe, nurturing yet challenging, academic environment for all students, especially our students with special needs, who have been able to succeed academically throughout our history, including being accepted at and enrolling in California State universities and local community colleges.

As Principal of Animo Jackie Robinson for going on eight years, I am both proud and humbled by the accomplishments of our students and teachers. I encourage anyone to come and visit our school, get to know our community and join the family. As all our alumni state with pride: “Once a Monarch, always a Monarch!”

Thank you,

Kristin Botello

Principal