About CMCS

Community Magnet Charter School (CMCS) is a National Blue Ribbon elementary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District serving grades K-5. The school is located in the canyons above Westwood in the Bel Air neighborhood. Students at Community Magnet Charter School come from all over Los Angeles through the LAUSD magnet program. 

Mission

We are a diverse school community, committed to providing a safe space where no child is hurt–mind, body, or soul. We develop the character and full learning potential of all students through cooperation among all stakeholders–students, teachers, administrators, parents, and support staff.  CMCS emphasizes the study of humanities and the social sciences through a multicultural perspective. At Community Magnet Charter School, we are committed to supporting anti-racism, religious acceptance, gender equity, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and neurodivergent students.

Vision

Community Magnet Charter School strives to create kind, empowered, confident, and responsible young people whose self-esteem, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills prepare them for success in the ever-changing global community. Community Magnet Charter School provides a secure and caring environment, which fosters creativity, mutual respect, and a lifelong love of learning.

Community Friends and Family

Parent involvement is very important to the school.  Community Magnet Charter School has an active parent support and fundraising organization through Community Friends and Family (CFF).

Staff

Community’s teachers are vibrant and maintain a challenging learning atmosphere all year through. Grade level teachers collaborate to plan the instructional program and all teachers regularly participate in professional development classes. Teachers are leaders and are the most important part of our school.

Our support staff includes: Office Administrators, Cafeteria and Custodial Staff, Teacher’s Aides, Magnet Coordinator, Resource Specialist, School Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, Adapted PE Teacher, Teacher for the Physically Disabled, Enrichment Teachers, and Librarian.

Community

Community Magnet Charter School currently has an enrollment of about 470 children. These students come to CMCS from all over the LAUSD region. They are dropped off at school or ride one of our 10 buses.

Class size in Community’s Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes is 24 students; and Grades 4th and 5th average 34 students. Three classrooms are provided for each grade level. There are TA’s (teacher aides) in all classrooms for part of the day to assist teachers and provide even more support for students. 

All of our teachers team-teach, so your child will have experiences with all teachers in the grade level. At the end of each year the teachers at each grade level meet to create equal classes for the following year. Factors considered in class placement include balance of gender, ethnicity, language ability, academic ability, gifted/talented identification, behavior and social interactions. 

The principal selects which teacher is assigned to each class. Parents will be notified by mail over the summer of their child’s class placement.

Campus

Community Magnet Charter School is located in Bel Air above UCLA. We have a 20-acre campus situated in a beautiful canyon that is quiet and away from the city noise. There are 20 classrooms and the office complex. We have a computer lab, library, art studio, auditorium and cafeteria. The kindergarten yard is separate from our 4-acre playground.