Continuation Alternative

Harris Newmark Continuation High School offers a high school curriculum in a unique environment. Located in the North Westlake community of Central Los Angeles, Newmark shares a campus with Belmont High School and Sal Castro Middle School, each school operating independently with discrete student populations. Also known as Newmark High School, the school is part of the LAUSD Educational Options Program providing alternative approaches in public schooling.

Founded in 1973, Newmark High School was named after Harris Newmark, a German immigrant, entrepreneur, and founder of modern-day Los Angeles. Harris Newmark believed in the power of transformation and adaptability to bring positive change in the world. He built a successful grocery business by immersing himself in his adopted community as an Angelino, learning Spanish in addition to English. His experiences are recorded in his autobiography, Sixty Years in Los Angeles.   

Part of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Educational Options and Virtual Academy Region, Harris Newmark Continuation High School is accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is compliant with both District and California Department of Education standards. Students graduate with a traditional high school diplomate.

Click here to learn more about the life of Harris Newmark and here to read an article about the historical narrative of the school.

Newmark Continuation High School is one of four Continuation High Schools located in Central Los Angeles and more than forty continuation schools across the District. Serving the LAUSD Educational Options Program, each Continuation High School features a small campus with a low student-to-teacher ratio, offering instruction to students beginning at sixteen years of age who are deemed as risk of not completing their high school diploma. The goal of each student is to recover credit deficiencies and either graduate from Newmark or transfer back to their original high school. 

Click here for more information about LAUSD Continuation High Schools in the Educational Options Program.

Continuation Education, an educational option for students since 1919, is a high school diploma program designed to meet the needs of students aged sixteen and older who have not graduated from high school, are not exempt from compulsory school attendance, and deemed at risk of not completing their schooling. Students enrolled in continuation education programs are often credit deficient. Others need a flexible educational environment because they are employed or engaged in family obligations.

To learn more about the California Department of Education and the Continuation Education program, click here.