James Monroe High

James Monroe High is one of the high-enrollment secondary schools in North Hills, California, operated by Los Angeles Unified, with 1,905 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. That puts it 127% bigger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 838 students.

Across the 784 schools in Los Angeles Unified (406,887 students total), James Monroe High accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, James Monroe High logs that nearly all students (90%) are Hispanic; the rest is composed of 3% White, 3% Asian, 2% Black. By comparison, Los Angeles County as a whole is about 48% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, James Monroe High has 116 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 18.2:1, putting James Monroe High tighter than the state norm the norm. About 94% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Los Angeles County's rate of about 70%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), James Monroe High sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 23.4%; this one delivers 26.6%.

In the surrounding community, census data for Los Angeles County shows median household earnings sit near $90,112, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Los Angeles County runs 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), of which James Monroe High is one.

Albert Einstein Continuation is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around James Monroe High. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), James Monroe High ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 27.5%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 13%: 2,185 students in 2018 compared to 1,905 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 22.9:1 in 2018 to 16.5:1 today.

On this page, members of the James Monroe High community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.