About the Nonprofit
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Carthay Environmental Studies Magnet PTA is the volunteer-led organization for Carthay Elementary. We are a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that raises funds to support programs and services not provided by Los Angeles Unified. Our mission is to advocate for ALL students.
Carthay Elementary first opened its doors in 1924 to serve the immediate neighborhood. Today, Carthay's students travel from greater Los Angeles, including underserved areas, to participate in our environmental studies program. The families represent the diversity of Los Angeles and speak over a dozen different languages from around the world: Spanish, Punjabi, Filipino, Russian, Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Amharic, Armenian, German, Korean, Hebrew and Rumanian. We are a Title 1 school, which means that more than half of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Carthay School of Environmental Studies Magnet is the only STEM-certified school in the Los Angeles Unified School District that utilizes a garden for an educational program centered on society and the environment. Environmental Studies is a broad, comprehensive field of study that engages students in real life explorations and gives them the skills and abilities they need to be active participants in improving quality of life for themselves and future generations.
The school's garden, which began in 2006, is an integral part of our environmental studies program. All students receive science instruction in our outdoor classroom and garden and gain hands-on experience understanding nature's many cycles -- including the growth cycle by planting seeds, nurturing plants as they grow, harvesting, eating the fruits and vegetables, and finally collecting seed for planting the following year. This not only expands their own tastes and access to fresh, healthy produce, it also helps them draw connections between how food is grown, and the importance of caring for our environment.
Carthay also encourages critical thinkers who take action. Through parent, teacher, administration, community support, and generous grants, our school has proactively achieved the following:
- Removed over 5,000 square feet of heat-absorbing asphalt and replaced it with green space and edible gardens, which provide fruit and vegetables for students and parents. Seven raised garden beds and an orchard with over 10 fruit trees.
- Reduced water consumption by converting the grass lawn in the front of our school to a drought-tolerant native garden. (This was a project spearheaded by first grade students in 2016. The garden is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat and provides a rich, healthy habitat for pollinators.)
- Reduced the amount of waste being discarded from 5 large bins to 3 bins per week.
- Taught the students and parents how to compost food waste that is being generated at our school. (Grant funding provided 2 large compost bins in our school garden.)
