SF Valley's Only All-Girls School Gets Approval for Campus

Panorama City, CA—The Girls Athletic Leadership Academy Los Angeles (GALS LA)—one of only two public all-girls public schools in LAUSD and the only one in the San Fernando Valley—received unanimous approval Thursday by the L.A. City Planning Commission for its new campus project in Van Nuys.

The commissioners expressed enthusiastic support for building a school at the proposed site (14203 W. Valerio St. in Van Nuys), lauding the thoughtfulness of the design that minimized traffic and noise impacts on the neighborhood as well as the community benefit of bringing in a high-quality public school option. Enrollment at the school will not exceed 330 students and 100 of the spots are intended for girls in the immediate neighborhood.

“Your property values will go up having this wonderful school near you. And I really think it’s an amazing opportunity to give…these girls that don’t otherwise have an opportunity unless they can afford private school,” Commissioner Jenna Hornstock said.

Commissioner David H. Ambroz echoed: “We have a responsibility as Angelenos to educate children. This is an amazing institution providing access to young women.”

School leaders had presented the commission with 333 signatures of support from neighbors who lived within half a mile of the proposed school site.

“As a community, we worked together with our families, students, staff, and board to achieve the 8-0, unanimous decision by the LA City Planning Commission,” said GALS Los Angeles Founder and Executive Director Carrie Wagner. “GALS is a gem in San Fernando Valley and the Planning Commission paved the way for greater equitable access to high quality schools for all students. We're so excited to partner with our community in Van Nuys!”

GALS LA’s college prep program has a demonstrated track record of success, outperforming neighborhood schools in math and English Language Arts with a model that focuses on rigorous academics, social emotional learning and athletics. The state-of-the-art campus would allow the middle school, which serves 96 percent girls of color and 88 percent from low-income families, to have its own standalone campus for the first time in its five-year history. The school also does not have any plans to grow and will be capped at 330 students.

“A free, single-gender public middle school for students in the community is now an option for all, not a privilege for some,” said GALS Founding Principal Vanessa Garza, herself a product of an all-girls high school. “We are so happy that the Planning Commission saw the great community benefit of a high-performing school like GALS in a residential neighborhood. We will make our new community proud.”

Residents in the immediate neighborhood expressed excitement for a school with a worthy mission that would also beautify an underutilized property.

“While I understand the concerns of some of my neighbors, especially traffic, I keep going back to the other options that could be placed there and I actually really like the idea of a small, sweet school nestled into that space,” a neighbor who identified herself as C.J. told the commission. “A school brings with it a level of security and safety and an emphasis on making the area more beautiful.”

Neighbor Estefania told commissioners that GALS’ efforts to reach out to neighbors personally showed her the kind of responsive and considerate neighbor GALS would make.

“The fact that someone took my opinion into account definitely tells me a lot about how much they’re willing to accommodate the neighborhood,” she said. “The fact that it’s a school for girls is something important for the community to accept because it’s growing women. Making an impact on the community is such a good idea to me.”

The school is believed to be the first in Los Angeles Unified and even surrounding districts to be constructed from the ground up entirely out of shipping containers. The design utilizes green technology, cutting down on construction impacts on the neighborhood.

###

The Girls Athletic Leadership School Los Angeles (GALS LA)—the first and only all-girls public school in the San Fernando Valley—is committed to preparing a generation of female leaders who lead not just from their brilliant minds but also their hearts. Through the integration of a health and wellness curriculum addressing the physical, emotional, and psychosocial needs of female adolescent development, GALS LA balances the goal of building strong minds and bodies with the opportunity for students to garner the skillset to emerge as leaders of their own lives. The Girls Athletic Leadership School Los Angeles envisions a world where all young women, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to access the skills, knowledge, and self-determination to succeed in secondary school, college, in their communities and the world.