Learning by Design Charter vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary ranks #9 out of 9,533 California elementary schools, placing it in the top 0.1% statewide. Learning by Design Charter, while itself a strong performer at #100 of 9,533 in California, sits 91 positions behind. Both schools serve kindergarten through 5th grade in Los Angeles, 6.6 miles apart, making the comparison a genuine decision point for families with flexibility on commute.

On academics, Charles H. Kim Elementary leads with a 9.5/10 academic score against Learning by Design Charter's 8.3/10 — a 1.2-point gap that reflects meaningfully stronger proficiency outcomes. Learning by Design Charter flips the dynamic on growth, posting a perfect 10.0/10 growth score versus Charles H. Kim Elementary's 9.8/10, signaling that its students make exceptional year-over-year gains regardless of where they start. Parents weighing where a child enters versus how fast they'll accelerate will read these two numbers differently.

The demographic picture diverges sharply. Charles H. Kim Elementary enrolls 472 students against Learning by Design Charter's 115, making the charter school a significantly more intimate setting. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility runs 88% at Charles H. Kim Elementary versus 64% at Learning by Design Charter, indicating Charles H. Kim Elementary serves a higher concentration of economically disadvantaged families. Student-teacher ratio is close — 18.2:1 at Charles H. Kim Elementary versus 19.2:1 at Learning by Design Charter — so neither school holds a clear structural edge on classroom size.

Both schools are elementary-only, covering the same KG–05 grade span, so the choice doesn't hinge on program breadth or level coverage. The core distinction is school type: Learning by Design Charter operates as a charter with the enrollment and operational flexibility that entails, while Charles H. Kim Elementary is a traditional Los Angeles Unified public school. Families in LAUSD attendance boundaries for Kim can enroll without an application process; Learning by Design Charter requires active enrollment and may have waitlists given its small 115-student footprint.