A Message from the Principal

It’s not often that a middle school student runs in a marathon, but 12 Ánimo Jefferson Charter Middle School Students upheld their school’s 12-year track record of competing in the LA Marathon through a partnership with Students Run LA, a nonprofit organization that encourages students to compete in the LA Marathon.  Carl Finer and Thomas Lo, two founding teachers at Ánimo Jefferson, ... read more

While the year 2020 is not likely to be described as “picture perfect,” it did turn into a perfect picture project for our students. At Ánimo Jefferson Charter Middle School, students in Carl Finer’s investigative journalism course used their phone cameras to encapsulate their unique pandemic experiences. Several students published their in-depth and fascinating images on the Ánimo Jefferson’s student-run newspaper website, ... read more

The unprecedented pandemic has reshaped the classroom experience for students across the country. In the move away from physical classrooms, many students have experienced distance-learning—but few have published a competition winning poem about it.  Samantha Rodriguez, an eighth grade student at Ánimo Jefferson Charter Middle School, won second place for her poem “Advice For Online School” in the annual Ánimo Voices Writing ... read more

This piece placed second for middle school writing submissions in the 2021 Ánimo Voices Writing and Art Competition, which invited students to express the reality of the challenges they or others face and/or how they or others find hope through difficult times. The competition is an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through writing and art. ... read more

For far too long, schools have left a large number of students from underserved communities without the advanced skills and knowledge necessary for their lives after high school. The National Science Foundation found that African Americans and Latinos combined only account for 11 percent of employment in Science and engineering careers. People of color are grossly underrepresented in STEM careers, that’s why at ... read more

Last week, several schools in the Green Dot Public Schools California network were announced as recipients of the CORE Districts’ Academic Growth Awards. These awards honor schools having the greatest impact on student achievement. Most notably, Ánimo Western Charter Middle School was recognized for three years of high impact growth in English Language Arts. According to CORE, schools with high impact growth ... read more