Westside Neighborhood School is a private independent school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, located in the west side of Los Angeles, California. Since 1980, WNS has educated a diverse population of students and has built a lasting community of students, faculty, and parents. WNS is notable for a program of "Family Groups," collections of students from all grades who meet regularly during school hours to work as a team on projects such as dramatic programs, organizing school functions, and work on community service projects. These joint efforts unite the students into a community unlimited by age and grade levels. Students stay in the same Family Group as long as they attend WNS, eventually leading their groups in their graduation years. WNS's experiential and discovery-driven curriculum is culturally diverse, academically challenging, and incorporates computer technology at all grade levels. Through the school year ending in 2005, WNS was Westchester Neighborhood School, located in south Westchester directly under the final approaches of aircraft landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), hence the "Jets" nickname used by the school's athletic teams. In September 2005 classes resumed in a vastly improved 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m) facility in Playa Vista.