Feeding flamingos and caring for koalas may not seem like your typical first period class, but the North Hollywood High School Zoo Magnet is not your typical school.
It is one of just six schools across the nation to partner with a working zoo, and it was recently named the number one magnet school in the nation by the Magnet Schools of America.
For more than 40 years this hidden gem, a high school tucked away in Griffith Park, has been offering Los Angeles Unified School District students the opportunity to study zoology and animal science through hands-on experience at the Los Angeles Zoo.
“Griffith Park is our living laboratory,” said Brie-anna Hope Molina, Zoo Magnet coordinator for North Hollywood High School. “We are walking distance from the L.A. Zoo, the Autry Museum of the American West, the L.A. River and the Griffith Observatory is not too far away. … We have a lot of amazing resources here. It’s such a cool place to learn science and just to exist as a student.”
Molina is an alumna of the Hollywood High School Zoo Magnet and was thrilled to see her former school win the 2023 Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Merit Award of Excellence, the most prestigious award given by the Magnet Schools of America. It was granted in recognition of the school’s commitment to diversity, academic excellence and curriculum innovation.
“What we are doing here is so special, unique and valued. I know that by seeing how amazing our students are doing, and how much they credit that to our program. But to see that acknowledged on a national stage is really exciting,” said Molina.
The school boasts a 100% graduation rate, and 95% college matriculation rate, and offers 23 Advanced Placement courses in partnership with North Hollywood High School. Its student body of 270 is drawn from all corners of Los Angeles. As part of the district’s commitment to equity, free transportation is provided to students who live outside a five-mile radius of the campus.
“Animal…
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