Blackburn Mentoring works with high school students, their parents and college students across Los Angeles County, in person in Los Angeles and by video everywhere else. Each student gets one dedicated mentor who helps with planning, routines, follow through and confidence, with a parent kept in the loop for high school students. Find your area below, or start with a short assessment and a free 20 minute intro call.
One county, very different school weeks
Los Angeles County is not one school system. The Los Angeles County Office of Education counts 80 school districts in the county and nearly two million students, about 1.3 million of them in elementary through high school. A student in a small foothill district, a student in LAUSD and a student commuting across the Valley to an independent school all face different calendars, class sizes and drive times.
The adults around them differ too. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024), 36.0% of county residents 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 55.1% of residents speak a language other than English at home. In many households the student is the first to navigate the University of California and California State University process, while in others the pressure comes from parents who know it all too well. A mentor adjusts to both.
What stays the same everywhere is what a mentor does: a weekly plan that holds up, routines for homework and sleep, executive function skills like starting, estimating time and finishing, and someone who checks in between sessions. Mentoring is not tutoring, therapy, test prep or admissions consulting, and we never promise grades or admissions results.
Westside and coast
- Santa Monica: beach city pace, commuters and students who need structure around a busy week.
- Venice and Mar Vista: creative households and weeks that rarely repeat.
- Culver City: a central meeting point on the Westside with a media and tech workforce.
- Brentwood: canyon streets, Sunset traffic and high expectations for students.
- Pacific Palisades: families rebuilding routines after the 2025 fire.
- Malibu: a spread out coast where video carries most sessions.
- Beverly Hills: privacy, a steady relationship and independence as the goal.
- West Hollywood: a small city with a fast pace and many young adults.
- Westwood: a neighborhood built around a campus, plus parents who live far away.
- Marina del Rey and Playa Vista: young professionals and families near the harbor.
Central and East Los Angeles
- Downtown Los Angeles: students and young professionals living and working downtown.
- Westchester and Playa del Rey: residential streets by the airport and the bluffs.
- Hollywood: people who moved here to try something, and the structure that helps.
- Hancock Park and Larchmont: older neighborhoods and parents who want updates without taking over.
- Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire: apartment life in the middle of the city.
- Silver Lake and Los Feliz: creative east side families and unstructured weeks.
San Fernando Valley and north county
- Sherman Oaks and Encino: life along Ventura Boulevard between the 405 and the 101.
- Eagle Rock and Highland Park: Northeast LA neighborhoods with creative families and many school choices.
- Studio City: families shaped by the entertainment industry and its call times.
- Woodland Hills and Tarzana: West Valley families and large schools where students can get lost.
- Calabasas: Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village along the 101.
- Agoura Hills and Westlake Village: family suburbs on the 101 in the Las Virgenes district.
- Northridge and Porter Ranch: student life and family life in the northwest Valley.
- Glendale and Burbank: close family ties and media careers.
- Santa Clarita: the valley north of the city, mostly by video.
- Antelope Valley: high desert distances where video is the norm.
San Gabriel Valley and foothills
- Pasadena and San Marino: a college town inside a big city, with school focused families.
- San Marino: a small, highly educated city with its own school district.
- La Cañada Flintridge: a small foothill city with big expectations.
- San Gabriel Valley: foothill towns, main streets and a lot of freeway.
- Claremont and Pomona: a college town next to a working city at the east end of the county.
South Bay, Long Beach and southeast county
- South Bay: Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes.
- South Pasadena: a small, walkable city with its own school district.
- Arcadia: an international city where students often carry very full schedules.
- Temple City: a small, international district in the middle of the valley.
- Sierra Madre and Monrovia: foothill towns in two different school districts.
- Glendora, San Dimas and La Verne: foothill suburbs at the east end of the valley, mostly by video.
- Diamond Bar and Walnut: hillside suburbs at the east end of the county, mostly by video.
- Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights: multilingual communities in the Puente Hills where students often guide the family through school.
- Manhattan Beach: a family town with its own school district and very full student calendars.
- Palos Verdes Peninsula: four hillside cities, one school district and teens who depend on rides.
- Torrance: about 138,000 residents, most students in Torrance Unified, plus college students living at home.
- Redondo Beach: a family city with its own school district between the beach and the 405.
- El Segundo: a small district in a big job center near the airport.
- Long Beach: a big city of its own, with college students and recent graduates.
- Whittier and Downey: close knit southeast cities and big, busy families.
Just over the county line
- Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Valley: Ventura County neighbors where the county line runs through daily life.
- Cerritos: a planned suburb with multigenerational families and demanding schedules.
- Ventura and Oxnard: the Ventura County coast, mostly by video.
- Newport Beach and Irvine: Orange County students and families.
- Inland Empire: long distances where video sessions fit best.
- All Southern California areas: Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego county pages, with each area’s school system.
Which school district serves your area?
A quick reference for families using the area pages above. District boundaries do not always follow city lines, and some neighborhoods sit in more than one district, so check your address with the district before relying on this list. Mentors work with students in any district, and with students at independent, parochial and charter schools.
| Area | Main public school district |
|---|---|
| Santa Monica and Malibu | Santa Monica Malibu Unified |
| Beverly Hills | Beverly Hills Unified |
| Culver City | Culver City Unified |
| West Hollywood and most City of Los Angeles neighborhoods (Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Westwood, Venice, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Downtown, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Northridge, Porter Ranch) | Los Angeles Unified |
| Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village | Las Virgenes Unified |
| Manhattan Beach | Manhattan Beach Unified |
| Redondo Beach | Redondo Beach Unified |
| El Segundo | El Segundo Unified |
| Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Rolling Hills | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified |
| Torrance | Torrance Unified |
| Long Beach and Signal Hill | Long Beach Unified |
| Cerritos and Artesia | ABC Unified |
| Downey | Downey Unified |
| Whittier (high school) | Whittier Union High School District |
| Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre | Pasadena Unified |
| San Marino | San Marino Unified |
| South Pasadena | South Pasadena Unified |
| La Cañada Flintridge | La Cañada Unified |
| Arcadia | Arcadia Unified |
| Temple City | Temple City Unified |
| Monrovia | Monrovia Unified |
| Walnut and southern Diamond Bar | Walnut Valley Unified |
| Rowland Heights | Rowland Unified |
| Hacienda Heights | Hacienda La Puente Unified |
| Claremont | Claremont Unified |
| Pomona | Pomona Unified |
| Glendale | Glendale Unified |
| Burbank | Burbank Unified |
| Santa Clarita (grades 7 to 12) | William S. Hart Union High School District |
| Lancaster and Palmdale (high school) | Antelope Valley Union High School District |
Planning the year? See our 2026 to 2027 school year calendar for Los Angeles families: UC and CSU application windows, SAT dates, AP exams, the March 2 aid deadline and where to find the LAUSD calendar.
How sessions work across the county
Sessions are 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week. Students in Los Angeles can meet in person at a convenient, appropriate place agreed on the intro call, and many families use video for some or all sessions because a school night drive across the county can take longer than the session itself. Mentors offer early morning, evening and weekend times, and stay in touch by text and phone between sessions. New clients are matched with a mentor within two business days.
For LA students, parents and schools
- Mentoring for high school students and academic coaching for high school students
- Mentoring for college students, including community college and transfer students
- Independent school families and private high school admissions
- Executive function coaching and mentoring for students with ADHD
- For educators: independent schools, school counselors and refer a student
- Free guides: education guides and tools
Prefer to search by school district? Our school district and college system guides cover LAUSD, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Malibu, Pasadena, Glendale, Las Virgenes, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Conejo Valley, plus UC, CSU and community college students.
Related
- Coaching in Los Angeles
- Mentoring for high school students
- Mentoring for college students
- For independent schools
- Mentoring by state
- All Southern California areas
- Entertainment industry families
- For advisors and attorneys
Common questions
Which parts of Los Angeles County do you serve?
All of it. Students anywhere in the county can work with a mentor by video, and students in Los Angeles can also meet in person. The area pages above describe what mentoring tends to look like in each part of the county.
Can my student meet a mentor in person?
In person sessions happen in Los Angeles at a convenient, appropriate place agreed on the intro call. Many families mix in person and video, and some use video only because of drive times.
Do you work with both public and private school students?
Yes. We work with students in public districts, independent schools, parochial schools and homeschool programs, and with college students. Mentors coordinate with parents and the school team when the family wants that.
Is this tutoring or college admissions consulting?
No. Mentors help with planning, routines, follow through, executive function skills and confidence. A tutor teaches content and a consultant advises on applications; a mentor can work alongside either.
How do we start?
Take the short assessment or call (888) 305 5422. Our team sets up a free 20 minute intro call, and new clients are matched with a mentor within two business days.
Get started
Looking for a mentor for a student anywhere in Los Angeles County? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free 20 minute intro call.
Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.