Felicitas & Gonzalo Mendez High School: A Community School That Honors Its Neighborhood’s Legacy of Educational Justice

This Learning Policy Institute Brief provides an up-close look at Felicitas & Gonzalo Mendez High School (Mendez), a high-performing community school in East Los Angeles led by Principal Mauro Bautista, a PLI faculty and PLI graduate. Named for the plaintiffs in a 1946 landmark desegregation case, Mendez has deep ties to the Boyle Heights neighborhood in which it is located, including a robust network of partnerships that engage and support its students and their families. In the brief, LPI Research and Policy Associate Charlie Thompson details the structures and practices that create the conditions for deep engagement, shared leadership, and a school culture that combines rigorous and engaging academics in a nurturing and inclusive environment.