The Class of 2026 at King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science has a major milestone to celebrate. This year, the South Los Angeles-based school made history by sending more Black students to the University of California system than any other school worldwide.
The students gathered for a special assembly to celebrate the milestone, during which Principal Reginald Brookens reflected on the
school’s rich history. In 1966, in the aftermath of the Watts riots, the district established the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science to train medical professionals in the then-predominantly Black Willowbrook community.“We needed medical professionals who looked like the community,” Brookens told ED Source.
The King/Drew Magnet School was founded in 1982 to promote equity in healthcare access by providing students with hands-on experience in medical settings.
Brookens noted that the students’ success
rate is likely due to the school’s rigorous academic program, which exceeds the school district’s required standards. Brookens also noted that all students take four years of math and science and three years of a foreign language.“We also offer over 25 AP [Advanced Placement] courses and honors courses, so they come out competitively eligible—everybody does,” Brookens said.
King/Drew alum Dr. Jarvis Givens offered insight into the school’s historic legacy.
“The legacy of King/Drew is that it teaches students that we have strengths and that we have resources that we
need from the families that we come from, the community that we come from, and those are gifts that we have to empower ourselves and to offer gifts to the world, “ The Harvard professor told Fox 11 News, Los Angeles.“We hold high expectations for ourselves within our communities with people who look like us, with people who love us, and that’s the standard, that’s the norm,” Givens noted.
According to Ed-Data, King/Drew maintained a 100% graduation rate in 2024-25 and has consistently exceeded 95% since the 2020-21 academic year. The student body is nearly 100% Black and Latino, with each group comprising roughly half of the student body.
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