Outside a synagogue on Pico Boulevard, home to the independent charter City High School, signs beckoned families to join: “Now Enrolling! 9th and 10th grade.”   But on Friday morning, the classrooms were mostly empty. Instead, the blue chairs on which students sat for the last month were arranged in a circle outside on the courtyard’s cracked asphalt.

Parents, students and teachers passed around a palm-sized stuffed lion and mourned the loss of their school, just a month into its second year.   “It’s like a funeral,” said Tiffany Bowen, whose son Sudan was in 10th grade. “You know how I feel? You know on the iPhone, there’s an emoji with a bandage on its head? That’s me.”   The charter school’s board of directors voted Monday evening to close the high school, citing financial and facilities problems.

L.A. School Report first reported the news Thursday.   The shutdown left City High’s 116 students scrambling to make other arrangements. As of Friday morning, all but five to 10 students had other options, including other independent charters and campuses run by the Los Angeles Unified School District, Principal Sheri Werner said.   The school’s closing is the latest high-drama episode for an organization that has won praise for its academic strength but generated controversy within the local community.

Original story from LATIMES.COM can be accessed here. Authors- joy.resmovits@latimes.com   sonali.kohli@latimes.com   howard.blume@latimes.com