New Village Girls Academy
New Village Girls Academy’s rigorous work certification program prepares students for career readiness and is a mandatory first step to securing an internship. Interest-based internships take place two afternoons per week, guided by a successful adult mentor, and are often paid positions.
To support student well being and academic success, New Village’s Wellness program includes women’s health education, school-wide Wellness Days, experiential learning in the natural world, twice-daily meditation and the services of our full-time school social worker. The target population is high-risk young women, ages 14 to 21, from across Los Angeles County, who have dropped out or are failing in the traditional school system. Most are dealing with the effects of trauma, sexual and physical abuse, poverty and extremely difficult personal circumstances including early pregnancy/parenting and involvement in the foster care or probation systems. Nearly all are young women of color from underserved neighborhoods; the majority resides in the Westlake neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles. New Village will expand their targeted outreach and provide rigorous employment training, authentic learning through mentored internships and social-emotional support services.
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I feel like this school is preparing me for college. Since I'm going into mechanical engineering, my internship is helping me learn how to use tools and prepare for unexpected situations. I wouldn’t have these experiences in a regular high school. I would need to find someone that could help me. Here, it’s part of how we do things.
We are a school that addresses more than just the academic aspects of girl's lives; our goal is to serve the needs of the whole child. Currently serve students who are pregnant or parenting, youth in the foster care or probation system, and students who need a small school environment to thrive. From offering mental health services to internship opportunities and college scholarships, we are a model school designed to ensure student success. The girls that walk through our doors have generally faced numerous challenges in traditional school settings but through our dedication to their wellness and progress, we are able to graduate champions of change and possibility.
