Science Academy STEM Magnet

5525 Vineland Ave.

School District

Los Angeles Unified
Grade

6-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:26
Type

public

School Map for Los Angeles Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on March 30, 2024

That's wonderful to review! SASM school is doing a fantastic job.It is a such a good school for my two kids.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2024

They have an entrance exam with a high bar and present themselves as an elite school for gifted children. They select very studious, smart, mathematically inclined pupils and then proceed to stuff them with information at a fast pace in a non engaging way, thwarting their intellectual curiosity. It’s all about rote learning and regurgitating the material, rather than truly understanding or having a passion for it. Rife with academic dishonesty which the teachers do little to curb - as they would rather the students appear to do well. We left after middle school but the lack of focus on English instruction has set my child back.
Submitted by parent on December 06, 2023

The SASM is the perfect school for my STEM-obsessed 6th grader for whom "regular" schools have always been too slow and painfully boring. My child is thriving and enjoys being surrounded by other kids with similar abilities and interests. It's an excellent school for those kids who love STEM above all else, and are able to take on a lot of independent studying (especially in math) and get through new material without skipping a beat. All the core subjects are Honors, and certain classes will be AP level starting in 7th grade. They move fast and everyone is expected to be able to keep up.The teachers and staff are kind and supportive. The PTA is active, and fun social activities are organized throughout the year. It takes a lot of work and commitment to become a part of the SA community, and it shows in how involved the families are and how seriously most students take their education.
Submitted by student on August 13, 2023

As former student of the Science Academy, I regret having attended middle school here and am glad I was able to leave.The teachers here do not know how to make learning engaging - they just want to cram knowledge into you with tests. On top of that, there is a great deal of blatant favoritism which some teachers having clear teacher's pets and being borderline hostile to other students.Most importantly, this school does not care about the emotional health of the students. Countless times I found students crying in the bathroom because of a grade they received would lower their GPA and their school ranking. The high schoolers are so stressed out they all vape, and a large majority of the students are on Adderall.This is not a healthy environment, and I certainly did not thrive. Fortunately, I was able to convince my parents to switch schools and I made the Dean's List every trimester this past year.On that note, the administrators and teachers made it really difficult for my parents to get letters of recommendation so that we could apply elsewhere- we had to constantly remind them, often they missed deadlines. As for getting an administrative recommendation, they refuse to give you one because it is their policy that recommendations can only be written by in class personnel.Good luck getting into a good high school with those obstacles!
Submitted by student on December 28, 2022

The Science Academy has given me opportunities and opened doors for me that I never knew existed. I'm participating in so many extracurricular competitions here and have won awards in some of them! I never thought I could do this but the school provides opportunities for everyone to succeed and achieve great things. In addition, the kids here are smart, they challenge you to "level up" and learn things you never thought to try. The student body is small yet tight-knit and I have a wonderful group of friends. The teachers are supportive and wonderful, many of the science and math teachers are professionals who have worked in the industry and are now teaching. The students have won so many competitions and awards; the school really does open doors for us. Since the student body is small, everyone has the chance to be a leader; taking initiative is encouraged at this school.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2021

US News & World Report ranks the Science Academy STEM Magnet as the #1 Middle School in LAUSD and the #3 Middle School in the state of California (Oct 2021). The administration and teachers are very caring and dedicated to the students. The homework is challenging but meaningful. If your child is lucky enough to get in (passing the test, meeting eligibility criteria, and selected in the lottery) you will find your child among the best and brightest in LAUSD. My child is very happy at Science Academy and has made a great group of new friends. The whole idea of middle school can be a bit daunting (and even a little scary!), but all of our worries were laid to rest once our child started at this truly amazing school.
Submitted by parent on October 08, 2021

Around mid-term now and the transition back has been smooth . Excellent teachers that know the students well and the kids love learning - it’s cool to be smart and work hard at this school. Below reviewer thinks the fact the principal was an actor is a minus when many parents think that world experience is actually a plus. He said at the open house that decades ago he gave up a promising acting career to take care of his ill son and then went on to study and master physics, teaching first then creating this innovative program. He cares about hiring great teachers in all subjects because of this. Just getting to know him but VP seems like a great person and administrator too - and very smart. Of course there are some issues but every school has some - it’s small enough parents and kids have a voice if they want to be heard. Because it is small if you want your child to have things like dance and pottery classes you’ll have to look outside of school or the free community college classes for all LAUSD kids .
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2021

Hard to get into - great for high achievers.There is a test your 5th grader will need to take that is essentially an 8th grade level science overview. If they pass the test they also have to win the lottery for a spot. Every kid at this school (including my own) really wants to be here and it shows.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2021

It's a nice school if you want your child to dedicate 125% of their life to school, but If want your child to enjoy High School or Middle, have a homecoming, or a decent school dance I wouldn't recommend (prior to pandemic).
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2020

This school is truly fantastic. Even as they adapted through the pandemic. The high school AP test scores are very good and well above average. Which is amazing because the high school portion of the school is so new. Bullying is non existent and the teachers are compassionate and rigorous.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2020

In my opinion this is not a very strong school, both for your child's academic and social development. I decided to do this review because right now LAUSD's open enrollment is taking place and this is my attempt to save some trouble for another family. Don't get me wrong, this school has some really good teachers and students. But if your child ends up with a cohort containing a few "bad apples", don't expect any help from the school. Also don't expect that your child is going to be able to find "her own crowd" here because there is no other crowd, the school is really too small for that. Something else to consider: notice the number of kids graduating from The Science Academy's middle school and the number of kids enrolled in its high school. Ask yourselves why such a high number of middle school students choose to enroll elsewhere for high school. Academically the school is really struggling, specifically the high school. Please keep in mind that the excellent test scores listed on this site are for the middle school only ( at least at the time of this writing ). The school doesn't have enough teachers on staff to teach all the required high school subjects. So this school's answer to this problem is to engage teachers from a nearby community college. A lot of parents are excited by this and think that this makes this school very progressive. But please consider this: college teachers are trained to teach adults, not kids. The calendar schedules for community college and LAUSD do not match, so please ask this school's leadership who is going to be teaching your students the few weeks that LAUSD is already in session, but college is not. In addition, there is a complete lack of electives at the high school. Your child will not be able to elect anything, instead she/he will be assigned a class from a community college and this will be called "an elective". Lastly, the highlight of the open enrollment presentations is this school's super modern tech lab. Ask the school about the percentage of kids that are able to take advantage of this lab though. My child has never been able to get access to it. So what good is this lab to your child if she/he is not able to use it?
Submitted by parent on September 05, 2020

You won't regret once you send your child him. Great principle, great teachers, excellent students.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2020

An extremely challenging and nurturing environment that helps student to succeed
Submitted by student on March 04, 2020

The principal always wants the best for his students, even sometimes working hands on in the classroom to see how effective the teachers are. The administration always works with the students and are flexible and understanding. The academics provided are much more advanced than other schools and prepare students for their future education.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2020

Both of my children go to Science Academy and we love it! Wonderful teachers, challenging curriculum, small class sizes, no bullying, great campus...
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2019

Great school, great teachers, great principal , we like this school overall.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2019

Our child has had a great year and looks forward to starting the High School next year. It is a challenging, fast paced curriculum and meant for kids who especially love science and math. English and History were fantastic too so it felt like a well balanced course load. It's nice that the atmosphere encourages learning and cooperation and we get the sense that whatever competition there is it's not unhealthy. The High School program is still growing and the current 9th graders I know seem really happy there. Since it appears that there are only 120 kids in 9th and 10th grade combined they will all get individualized attention. We're sending our younger child there as well and even though their class size is bigger it's still only 80 kids and we understand from experience that the school does not let anyone slip through the cracks. In that way it feels like a private school. It's not for everyone since some parents and students take comfort in large traditional schools. Based on the self-selecting nature of the parents and students who chose to go here we have had a very positive experience with the administration, teachers, students and other parents.
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2019

Our son has attended The Science Academy STEM Magnet since 6th grade. We can not say enough about the school, administrators, teachers and families. The program is highly rigorous and challenging (all students in the program are studying at advanced levels for science and math). The homework load can be overwhelming at times but there is a terrific support network to ensure that students stay on track. Our son has made great friends and loves his teachers. The academics are top notch. For the second consecutive year, The Science Academy was the number one school in the state of California with the highest scores among grades 6 through 8 in English, math and the English and math combination. For kids who love math and science and are up for the challenge, this is one of the best school options in LA.