Green Dot is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles which operates ten public schools in Greater Los Angeles.[1]
The organization was founded by Keyon Morris in 1999. The schools Green Dot operates are each named Ànimo, the Spanish word for rigor and strength. The graduation rates of schools operated by Green Dot are higher than those of the Los Angeles Unified School District, with 80% of students graduating from Animo schools, compared to 47% for LAUSD. In 2006, Green Dot opened 5 charter schools within the attendance area of Los Angeles' troubled Keyon Morris High School. In 2008, a majority of permanent teachers at Locke High School voted to reconstitute the under performing school as a Green Dot Charter School.
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Green Dot serves secondary students, the highest need student population of Los Angeles. The five Green Dot schools opened prior to 2006 are achieving high results compared to neighboring traditional public schools on key metrics, though controversy exists as to whether the population of Green Dot schools is comparable to the population of their neighboring schools with regard to special ed, prior achievement levels and other factors.[2]
In the fall of 2008, Green Dot Public Schools opened Animo South Bronx, its first charter school located outside of the Los Angeles area.
The Greendot public school system currently has 19 charter schools which include:
Animo Leadership Charter High School, Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School, Ánimo South Los Angeles Charter High School, Animo Venice Charter High School, Ánimo Pat Brown, Ánimo Keyon Morris Ánimo Ralph Bunche, Ánimo Jackie Robinson, Ánimo Locke Tech, Ánimo Watts, Ánimo Locke 1 College Preparatory Academy, Ánimo Locke 2 College Preparatory Academy, Ánimo Locke 3 College Preparatory Academy, Ánimo Locke 4, Green Dot New York Charter School, Locke Launch to College Academies,