Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School

Awards and recognition

During the 2006-2007 school year, Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

In their annual list of the top 1,300 high schools in the United States, Newsweek ranked Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School as 352nd in 2008 and 291st in 2007. In 2007, U.S. News and World Report named it one of its top 100 public high schools.

History

Originally, a magnet center was established at nearby Lincoln High School before moving to Wilson High School from 1985 until 1990. Bravo Medical Magnet is named after Francisco Bravo, a well-known physician who practiced in East Los Angeles, established his own clinic, and founded a scholarship fund for needy high school students interested in the health science professions. Groundbreaking on Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School started in 1987 and construction was completed in 1990. Dr. Rosa Maria Hernández, who was instrumental in the school's construction, served as principal from the school's opening until 2003 when she became the District F Coordinator. She was then succeeded by Maria Torres-Flores.

Location

Bravo is located in a commercial and residential section of Eastside Los Angeles, about 8 minutes from the Los Angeles Civic Center.

Bravo is located adjacent to the LAC+USC Medical Center Complex, which includes the Keck School of Medicine of USC, USC School of Pharmacy, Doheny Eye Hospital, Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, Norris Cancer Hospital, and the USC University Hospital.

The school's proximity to USC has enabled partnerships, Bravo was adopted by the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center in September 1981, shortly after the school opened as a small magnet center on the Lincoln High School campus. The school has agreements with USC Medical Center as well as California State University, Los Angeles in promoting health-related activities and projects.

Magnet Program

Bravo’s medical magnet program was originally part of the school integration program to be accessible to all students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, so the school community has wide geographical boundaries. Thirty buses deliver 85% of Bravo’s 1,726 students, some of whom travel up to an hour to school and are drawn from 32 middle schools. Students apply through the District’s “Choices” program and are selected by the district’s lottery.

Student Body

Bravo served 1,852 students during the 2014-2015 school year. Approximately 40% of the students attending Bravo are from the surrounding community in what now comprises LAUSD Local District East. The remaining 60% commute from other areas of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Demographics

Bravo's demographics currently indicate 66% Hispanic students, 17% Asian/Filipino/Pacific Islander, 2% African-American, 14.3% White, and 0.2% American Indian/Alaskan Native. Over the past six years Bravo has maintained a steady total enrollment and has seen a general decline in all ethnic populations except the Hispanic group which has increased 15% (with a corresponding drop in other populations).

Title I Students

For 2006-07, Bravo has approximately 82% (1415 students) of all students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. About 72% of students’ home language is not English. Bravo High School has a school-wide Title I program and is one of the very few Title I High Schools that has surpassed the 800 API level.

Academic Performance Index (API)

The Academic Performance Index—API for High Schools in the LAUSD District 5 and local small public charter high schools in the East Los Angeles region.

Bravo API Scores

The Bravo Medical Magnet High School API scores: