Gil Garcetti Learning Academy vs Third Street Elementary

Third Street Elementary holds a substantially higher overall rating than Gil Garcetti Learning Academy — 9.6 versus 9.3 out of 10 — but the state rank gap is far more telling. Third Street Elementary ranks #8 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1 percent statewide. Gil Garcetti Learning Academy ranks #77 of 9,533 — still an elite position, landing in the top 1 percent in California, but a meaningful 69 ranks behind its counterpart 7.0 miles away.

The sharpest divergence between the two schools is academic proficiency. Third Street Elementary scores a perfect 10.0 out of 10 on academics compared to Gil Garcetti Learning Academy's 8.3 out of 10 — a 1.7-point gap that reflects a significant difference in tested achievement levels. Where the schools converge completely is growth: both Gil Garcetti Learning Academy and Third Street Elementary score identically at 9.9 out of 10, meaning students at both campuses are making exceptional year-over-year learning gains regardless of where they start.

The demographic profiles of the two schools differ substantially. Gil Garcetti Learning Academy serves 513 students with 99 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, signaling a high-poverty student body. Third Street Elementary enrolls 691 students with 43 percent on free or reduced lunch — a much more economically mixed population. Gil Garcetti Learning Academy offers a lower student-teacher ratio of 19.0:1 versus Third Street Elementary's 22.3:1, meaning students at Gil Garcetti receive more individual adult attention in the classroom despite its smaller overall enrollment.

One structural difference worth noting for families planning beyond elementary years: Gil Garcetti Learning Academy serves grades kindergarten through sixth, giving students one additional year on campus before the transition to middle school. Third Street Elementary runs kindergarten through fifth grade only, requiring families to navigate a school transition one year earlier. Parents weighing program continuity alongside the academic ceiling each school offers should factor that grade-span difference directly into their timeline.