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Academy for Academic Excellence presents student outcomes, waiting list and JPL ties as charter renewal approaches
Summary
AAE (Lewis Center) told the Apple Valley Unified board it serves about 1,500 students, has a waiting list exceeding 1,900, outperforms county/state in ELA and math, and has deep STEM partnerships including work tied to JPL/NASA. Trustees pressed AAE on demographic balance and requested enrollment/retention breakdowns.
Representatives from the Academy for Academic Excellence, a TK–12 Lewis Center charter in Apple Valley, presented school‑level data to the Apple Valley Unified board on Sept. 4 as part of a periodic update ahead of the school’s 2028 charter renewal.
Lisa Lamb and AAE principal staff said the school enrolls roughly 1,500 students and has a waiting list that exceeds its current enrollment (staff cited more than 1,900 names on the list). AAE described a STEM‑focused program that includes a Space Force Junior ROTC unit with 164 participating high‑school students, extensive partnerships with JPL/NASA and dual‑enrollment and CTE pathways. Lamb said the Lewis Center’s partnership with JPL is written into JPL’s prime contract and supports student research and career pathways.
AAE staff presented performance metrics showing English language arts and math results above the county and state averages and graduation rates near 97–99% in recent years. The school noted awards for special education work and cited an 86% pass rate for credential course prerequisites supported by the fire district partnership.
Trustee Maria Opara pressed AAE on the school’s racial and subgroup balance, noting low African‑American enrollment. AAE representatives said California charter lottery law constrains preferential assignment and that the school has targeted outreach (mailing, community partnerships and board diversity efforts) and enrollment policy changes (families must have school‑age children to be placed on the list) to improve access; they also agreed to provide disaggregated retention and cohort data to the district.
What’s next: Trustees requested follow‑up with AAE on retention by subgroup and a board presentation focused on the district’s role in monitoring equity for charter‑authorized schools. The board noted AAE’s charter renewal is scheduled for 2028 and welcomed continued updates.
Representative quote: “We are proud of our partnerships and the outcomes, but we also know we must be intentional about outreach and enrollment balance,” Lisa Lamb said; in response to a trustee’s equity question, Mr. Richards (AAE) provided initial retention figures and said the school will send detailed subgroup retention data to the district.
