Founded in 2010 as an attempt to relieve student overcrowding at James A. Garfield High School, ELARA is one of five small schools established on the Esteban E. Torres High School campus, alongside East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet (ELAPA Magnet), Humanitas Academy of Arts and Technology (HAAT), Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA), and Engineering and Technology Academy (ETA).

The overcrowding problem continued into the 21st century, prompting demands for the construction of a second high school in the area.

On June 22, the Board of Education approved the final location of the future Esteban E. Torres High School.

Prior to the construction of the Torres High School campus, the land on which the ELARA building is now located was an agricultural center administered by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps.

On September 24, 2018, former biology teacher, Gina Murry, was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student during the months of May and June.

ELARA college-ready graduates obtain broad-based knowledge, learn collaborative skills, and gain the self-confidence necessary to become innovators and leaders in their communities and professions.

[14] On January 1, 2014, the STAR Program was replaced by the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System "to assist teachers, administrators, students, and parents by promoting high-quality teaching and learning through the use of a variety of assessment approaches and item types".

[17] ELARA is the only school on the Torres campus that provides and maintains an Academic Decathlon program for its students only.

In this class, students are placed into either one of three competitive team ranks based on their grade-point average and skill level: Varsity, Scholastic, and Honors.

Focusing on a selected subject determined by the United States Academic Decathlon Association (USADA), the class divides its curriculum into ten different disciplines: Language & Literature, Economics, Art, Music, Mathematics, Social Science, Science, Essay Writing, Speech, and Interview.

Based on the 2010 United States census,[18] 97.1% of the population in East Los Angeles was Hispanic or Latino.