Moving to LA area-is it possible to find good public schools with some African American (Glendale: neighborhoods)

[shajsrs]

I've seen similar posts dating back the past few years, but wanted to check in now. We are moving from Maryland and looking for a diverse area with good public schools and a decent commute into downtown LA (less than 45 mins) and to Burbank (30 mins or less)?

It seems the good public schools in areas such as La Canada, South pas, La Crescenta, Glendale have good schools but I really don't want my kids to be the only black children in their classes. I also don't want to commit indefinitely to private school given they are only in elementary school now. Are there neighborhoods anyone can suggest or am I looking for something that doesn't exist? We considered Culver city but heard that's an hour commute to Burbank. Any help appreciated!

[yby1]

I think South Pas or Glendale have more diversity than the others.

Culver City would work. I think El Rincon Elementary has a good percentage of African American students. The commute to Burbank from Culver City might not be too bad, it's just finding a way to get past DTLA, other than that I think you would be going against traffic.

[hjt123]

if you swapped the desired commute times of DTLA and Burbank it would be a lot easier.

i'd recommend the carthay/mid wilshire/faircrest heights area. it's a middle/upper middle class area with a large black population. carthay center elementary and laces (a magnet 6-12 school) are both good. for high school, if you can't get into laces, you'd either be zoned into hamilton or fairfax which get disparaged based on their reputation in the 90s, but aren't terrible nowadays.

[jamills21]

Look at some of the Charter Schools in the area. They rank better than LAUSD.

[hillyrae]

We send our children to Valley View elementary. It is the hidden gem of LAUSD, about 10-15 minutes from Burbank, it's located in the Hollywood Hills, valley side. There is a diverse range of kids, teachers and families. We are so blessed to have found it as they open enroll all year. The school itself only has 200 kids and the parents are very involved.