Exploring Educational Inequity: La Cañada Flintridge

La Cañada, which translates to “the glen” in Spanish, is a small, affluent city near Los Angeles with a population of approximately 20,000 people. Seated between the rambling foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Rafael Hills, La Cañada Flintridge is a suburban bastion of the greater Los Angeles County.

Residents and neighbors alike often refer to the sequestered community as 'The La Cañada Bubble.' The reasoning stems from three primary sources. First, there are many excellent schools within La Cañada, which leads to less socialization of the youth outside of the city. Second, La Cañada is a quiet, suburban town. There are few attractions that draw people into the city limits beyond a daytime rove of the tranquil Descanso Gardens. Lastly, the residents of La Cañada primarily comprise of white, middle-upper class individuals. 

Thus, 'The La Cañada Bubble' is another way of saying that the city is a kind of echo chamber. And although it is located in close proximity to hyper-progressive hub of Los Angeles, the suburbs of La Cañada maintain a sense of isolation through geography.

As noted, La Cañada is revered for its educational institutions. It is home to some of the top performing public and private high schools in all of California. However, many believe that the La Cañada Unified School District (LCUSD) maintains a somewhat dark past. The formation of the LCUSD took place during the onset of white flight between the 50’s and 70’s when middle and upper-class white families relocated from urban areas and spaces where minorities became permitted. In the 1950’s a public school district did not exist in La Cañada. Rather, students living in La Cañada attended the nearby John Muir High School in Pasadena; at the time, “however, there was concern over the growing black population at John Muir” by residents of La Cañada (Castellanos, 2020).

In 1954, the Supreme Court case of Brown v Board of Education determined that “segregated schools are ‘inherently unequal'” (Ogilive, 2019). In accordance with Brown v Board of Education, a 1970 court case against the Pasadena Unified School District mandated the desegregation of schools immediately (Ogilive, 2019). In the ensuing years a bussing program was established to aid efforts of desegregation. Unfortunately, such efforts effectively contributed to the opposite desired outcome. The result of the bussing program was an intensification of white flight, in which white families removed their children from Pasadena public schools and placed them in private schools一or, in the case of La Cañada residents, formed a new school district entirely.

Just six years after the Brown v Board of Education ruling, the residents of La Cañada voted on a 2-1 margin to form a schooling district, and by 1961 the La Cañada School District began operations. However, "concern was expressed by some in a local newspaper, the La Cañada Valley Sun (1960), that removing students from the more racially and economically diverse Pasadena school could lead to ‘insularity’ for the students who lived in a ‘one class community',” eliminating an opportunity for them to ‘learn about the larger world’... in many ways, LCUSD has seen that prediction come to fruition," said educational consultant Christine Hale-Nelson. With the decision made to form the new district, many families transitioned students from schools like John Muir into the La Cañada Unified School District.

Recent feedback provided by students has shed light on the needs to deepen the diversity of the La Cañada Unified School District. Educational consultant Christina Hale-Nelson gathered insights through surveys which pointed to the fact that a considerable number of students do not feel represented within the school, and that negativity along the lines of differences has been an experience for many of them.

To combat this issue of inequity within La Cañada, the first steps should begin with open dialogue about the issue. Second, representation within the faculty and staff of district must further reflect the populations of non-white students. Currently, over 70% of the staff within the LCUSD is white (Castellanos, 2020). The goal is change the culture of the LCUSD so that negativity along the lines of difference (whether that be race, sexuality, gender, or ethnicity) is no longer left unaddressed. Lastly, opportunities for students outside of the city's boundaries should be extended, especially for students enrolled in underperforming publics schools like many of PUSD.