Welcome

  • Kester is a diverse learning community of over 1,000 students, from kindergarten through grade five. Our school, which is in District 3 of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is comprised of a home school as well as a gifted/high ability magnet school (grades 1-5). We emphasize the importance of learning in core academic subjects, as well offer an enriched curriculum of art, music, and physical education. 
  • Kester’s most recent Academic Performance Index (API) score was 913 out of a possible 1,000. We have the highest API of all Sherman Oaks schools. Also, the State Department of Education named Kester a Distinguished California School in 2014. Academic Performance Index (API) information Students at Kester Elementary do very well on standardized tests. Performance on standardized tests for last year is available from the California Department of Education’s Academic Performance Index web page.
  • LAUSD school report card Each year the Los Angeles School District conducts a detailed survey of the employees and students between grades 3-12 of all of its schools. The report gives schools feedback from the entire school community to inform their planning efforts. Results are published in Kester’s school report card.
  • Architecture Kester Avenue Elementary was designed in 1953 by Richard Neutra, one of modernism’s most significant architects. 
  • School office hours are 7:30am to 4:30pm Monday – Friday. 
  • Admissions: Pre-enrollment packets are available in early April. Applications are processed by appointments that begin in late April, early May. To enter kindergarten, children must be five years old by September 1. (Children born between 09/2/14 and 12/2/14 are eligible for Transitional Kindergarten.) First preference goes to all pupils residing within the school’s attendance boundaries. Please bring: 1) Birth certificate or baptismal certificate 2) Current utility bill (LADWP or gas only) with name and address 3) Immunization record. Kindergarteners must also provide: 5) Five-year checkup 6) Dental health assessment. All documents must be originals only, and proof of residency must be current and include name and home address of parent or guardian. There will be an informational meeting for new kindergarten parents in the Spring.
  • Gifted/High Ability Magnet Program For information about applying to the Kester magnet program consult the CHOICES brochure, which is mailed directly to parents/guardians at home to help assure receipt. The application in each mailed brochure is pre-printed with personalized information for each student (name, address, birth date, etc.). Students must be verified as meeting specified criteria to be eligible to apply. For more on eligibility and the application process, please see the e-choices website. Call or visit the Magnet Office for more information: 818-787-3026. 
  • New school year: Students should be on campus by 7:50 a.m. School starts at 8 a.m. on August 20, 2019. New students, TK and kindergarteners should report to the cafeteria area for their classroom assignments. Rosters will be posted near the walls of the cafeteria with classroom assignments. TK and kindergarten students will then meet their teachers in the auditorium where they will be escorted to class. Returning students, Grades 1 through 5,  must look for their classroom assignments on the rosters posted on the school fence around Weddington Street. Once students have located their new classroom assignments, they must then go line up in the yard at their classroom numbers and wait for their teachers, who will escort them to their classrooms. Magnet school students should look for rosters posted near magnet classrooms 16, 17, 18 for classroom assignments. Due to changes in enrollment over the summer, all class assignments are tentative for the first few weeks of school. Transitional Kindergarten--  Children born between September 1 and December 2 are eligible for the Transitional Kindergarten class. This is a two-year program, with the first year focusing on kindergarten readiness and the second being traditional kindergarten. For more information call the front office: 818-787-6751. 
  • Cafeteria: Parents can pre-purchase lunches at the cafeteria every morning from 7:30-8:00am. You can deposit any amount, or you can send payment in with your child in an envelope that is clearly marked with child’s name and room number. When your child goes to buy his/her lunch, he/she will just need to give his/her name. View monthly menu online. Regular prices: Lunch $2.50 Reduced prices: Lunch $1.00 The district sends lunch applications to residences before the school year begins. All students MUST submit a meal application (even if you might think you do not qualify). It is important that you return the application promptly so that Kester may continue to qualify for Title I funding. Students who do not meet the eligibility may purchase lunch at the regular prices. Kester Avenue Elementary participates in the LAUSD’s Breakfast In the Classroom (“BIC”) program. Students will be offered a breakfast in their classrooms every day after the last bell.  Breakfast lasts approximately 20 minutes.  If your child has eaten at home or does not wish to participate in BIC, he or she simply needs to tell the teacher. Students who arrive late to school, after the conclusion of BIC, will not be given an opportunity to eat in the classroom, and must wait until their scheduled nutrition/recess.