Our Mission

The Los Angeles Leadership Academy prepares urban secondary students to succeed in college or on chosen career paths, to live fulfilling, self-directed lives, and to be effective in creating a just and humane world.

High-powered, performance-based assessment, and an integrated curriculum promote critical thinking and intellectual depth, breadth, and agility. Close relationships between students and staff and attention to students' individual needs and interests promote a community of well-rounded learners.

Students have opportunities to take action on important social issues, to work alongside community mentors, and to enhance the learning power of these experiences through reflection and skill development in the classroom.

 Academy Mandala Words

 The word "mandala" means circle. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life reminding us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. Each member of our community which makes up L.A. Leadership Academy is expected to embrace the guiding principles represented by our Academy Mandala Words:

•     Community - We are able and willing to express our ideas, beliefs and feelings; to hear and respect the same from others. We take responsiblity for the life of our community.

•    Empowerment - We claim our power to define ourselves and to struggle for liberty.

•    Well-Being - We nurture our minds, bodies and spirits by practicing healthy habits.

•   Creator - We express our uniqueness, imagine new possibilities, shape ourselves and, and impact the world.

•    Love - We care deeply about ourselves and others, and express this through our actions.

•  Integrity - We constantly seek understanding by asking questions of ourselves and of the world around us.

•   Scholars - We are critical thinkers engaged in a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

•   Activists - We envision a just and humane world, strive to make it real, and inspire others to do the same. 

•   Courage - We have the strength to recognize and challenge our fears.