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Top Takeaways
- LAUSD’s King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science has the highest UC admissions rate for Black students.
- 1,103 Black students from the school have been admitted to the UC system since 1994.
- Students celebrated their achievements, receiving support from district and community leaders.
The King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science’s class of 2026 celebrated individual and collective successes in a packed gym during a special assembly on Tuesday.
The campus is home to more Black students admitted to the University of California system than any other school: 1,103 since 1994, including 67 last year. Berkeley High School, which had 849 Black students admitted during the same period, 46 last year, is second.
Since 1994, the magnet school has also sent 1,127 Latino students to the UC system. This year’s seniors are still in the thick of decision-making, but many are already donning college gear.
Los Angeles Unified School District Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait reminded the students that they stand on the shoulders of giants, and that they have a responsibility, once they graduate, to become “the strong shoulders for others.”
“It’s not just about academics,” he told the students. “Academics are absolutely critical; you need to have that foundational base. But actually, more than academics is character. It’s about who you are as a whole.”
Going Deeper
Four pieces of college advice from UCLA education professor Tyone Howard
These excerpts have been edited for length and clarity.
“You have a formula that has gotten you this far. You have figured out a way to success. … I need you to do that same formula when you get to college because that formula that you used to get into college is same formula that will get you through college.
“Reevaluate your circle. You are a product of your three or four closest friends. … There are folks who do not want to see you succeed, and … there are some folks who are threatened by your success. … If you have two close friends, that’s all you need.
“There will be bumps along the journey. …You’ll get to college, and you’ll get a grade that you’re not quite accustomed to. …That’s OK. That’s part of the journey. … When the bumps occur, you have to remind yourself, ‘I am more than enough.’”
“I need you to dream big. I need you to dream wild. I need you to set the biggest goal you’ve ever had. …There are no limits.”
Tuesday’s assembly marked the beginning of a new school tradition, celebrating students’ successes. But its legacy has lived for much longer.
In 1966, in the aftermath of the Watts riots, Los Angeles’ Willowbrook community established the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science to train medical professionals.
Because “we needed medical professionals who looked like the community,” Principal Reginald Brookens said. The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, which opened in 2015, gave graduates a place to work and serve the community.
Founding the King/Drew magnet in 1982 was the final step in the central mission to promote equity in health care access, providing students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in medical settings, including hospitals, clinics and labs.
“That legacy is great responsibility, so when you leave the hallways of King/Drew, your responsibility is to come back to our community to help us — because we still need you,” LAUSD’s Region South Superintendent Andre Spicer told the students.
Roughly 47% of its students are Black, and an equal number are Latino.
The school boasts particularly high graduation rates, anything less than 100% “being unacceptable,” Brookens said.
Ed-Data shows King/Drew maintained a 100% graduation rate in 2024-25 and has consistently exceeded 95% since the 2020-21 academic year.
“You’re going to be the social justice warriors. You’re going to be the ones who stand up for those who are inadequately served. We’re going through a grave time in this country, are we not?” Spicer told the students. “I’ve never seen a time when change didn’t come because of schools. The student voice matters.”
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