Scenes from Academia Semillas del Pueblo charter school

Juana de la Cruz Farias, a teacher at Academia Semillas del Pueblo, teaches Nahuatl, an indigenous language of Mexico, to Anthony Rayo. The Los Angeles Board of Education recently renewed the school’s charter despite underperformance on state tests. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

May 6, 2012 10:31 PM PT

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Things would be easier if Academia Semillas del Pueblo didn’t have such low test scores.

Semillas has long enjoyed community support, including from influential allies, but narrowly escaped closure recently when the school’s charter came up for renewal.

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Nauy Munoz is a fifth-grader at Academia Semillas del Pueblo in El Sereno. His hair style is part of the school’s spirit week to help students prepare for standardized testing. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Cristina Jaquez reads to first-grade students at Academia Semillas del Pueblo. The school narrowly escaped closure because of low test scores. Only 30% tested at grade level in English, 22% in math. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Kindergartners learn an Aztec dance at Semillas. “Over-reliance on a single high-stakes assessment is a fundamentally illegitimate tool with which to answer the question that is on everybody’s mind -- or ought to be -- and that is: What does it mean to be an educated person?” school co-founder Marcos Aguilar says. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Marcos Aguilar, executive director and co-founder of Academia Semillas del Pueblo, talks with his wife, Minnie Ferguson, also a founder, during a fifth-grade class. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Orlando Centendo teaches Wudang Qi Gong to fifth-graders at Academia Semillas del Pueblo. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Marcos Aguilar speaks with students at Semillas. The charter enrolls 300 children from kindergarten to eighth grade. Aguilar says students at his school deserve “access to language, culture and intellect in the classroom that is reflective of their heritage.” (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)