Oakland School For The Arts
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Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) is a
visual The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to detect and process light). The system detects, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an image and buil ...
and
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...
charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. OSA opened in 2002 with a curriculum that integrated college preparatory academics with conservatory-style arts training. As of 2017, enrollment was 725 students in grades 6 through 12. It is a member of the Arts Schools Network and the National Association for College Admission Counseling. In 2009, OSA was named a
California Distinguished School California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately 5-10% of California schools are awarde ...
. The school is located beside the Fox Oakland Theatre building at 530 18th Street at Telegraph Avenue in Uptown Oakland.


Founding and history

Oakland School for the Arts is a college preparatory, arts middle and
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
. It was founded in 2000 as a charter school in the
Oakland Unified School District Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district that operates a total of 80 elementary schools (TK–5), middle schools (6–8), and high schools (9–12). There are also 28 district-authorized charter schools in Oakland, ...
through the efforts of then Oakland Mayor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
. It received
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
nonprofit status in October 2001. In September 2002, OSA opened its doors with a ninth-grade class and added another high school grade each subsequent year. Loni Berry was the director of the school for the first four years. The current executive director is Mike Oz. For the 2005–06 school year, a middle school was added. Initially, the middle school and high school were kept separate with different entrances and shorter school hours for the middle school. Some performances combined both middle and high school students. In later years, there has been more integration among grade levels in academic areas. OSA began with seven art emphases: Theater, Dance, Literary Arts, Instrumental Music, Production Design, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. During the 2005–06 school year, Production Design was merged into Visual Arts. Faced with budget cuts in 2006, the school merged Theater, Arts Management, Literary Arts, and Visual Art and Design into one Theatre emphasis. In 2007, Literary Arts and Visual Art returned to separate emphases. From 2010 to 2014 the school also offered a Circus emphasis becoming the first high school in the United States to offer circus arts as a major. OSA also used to offer an ice skating emphasis at the Oakland Ice Center . The school was first located at the Alice Arts Center building in
downtown Oakland Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California, United States. It is located roughly bounded by both the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880 (California), Interstate 880 on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the north ...
. It was moved to temporary buildings near the Fox Oakland Theatre during the 2004–05 school year and moved into the Fox Oakland Theater building in Uptown Oakland in January 2009. Prior to the establishment of the school, the Fox Theatre had been closed for 30 years, and its reopening as a school and major concert venue was part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area. The first graduating senior class, the class of 2006, graduated with 100 percent of the class accepted to four-year colleges. High-school graduation and college enrollment rates continue to rank very high among San Francisco Bay Area public schools (e.g., nearly 100 percent of seniors graduated and 95 percent enrolled in college in 2013). In April 2014, OSA became the Master Tenant of the historic Sweet's Ballroom at 1933 Broadway, which serves as a performance facility and classroom space. In August 2016, OSA opened a new facility next door to Sweets in the J. J. Newberry's building at 1920 Telegraph Avenue to house the Instrumental Music department and the Production Design scene shop as well as a STEAM Lab. During the pandemic, OSA was unable to use Sweets but renewed the lease for the 2023-2024 school year.


Arts

Oakland School for the Arts offers nine arts emphases as of the 2023-2024 school year: * Dance * Fashion Design * Instrumental Music * Literary Arts * Media Arts (Digital Media) * Production Design (includes Lighting and Set Design) * Theatre * Visual Arts * Vocal Music * Audio Production & Engineering (High School Only)


Admission

Middle school students (grades 6–8) may audition for the Schools of Dance, Instrumental Music, Theatre, Digital Media, Literary Arts, Production Design, Visual Art, Fashion Design, and Vocal Music. Each year, OSA hosts two rounds of auditions, one in January and one in February. Students may audition for only two arts disciplines per round. Applicants audition before a panel of faculty and staff who assess their artistic talent and potential. Upon acceptance to the school, academic placement is determined based upon the student's prior preparation. In 2010, 30% of applicants were accepted. As of the 2020–2021 school year, OSA is phasing out auditions. Incoming sixth graders for the 2021–2022 school year will be entered into a lottery without having to first audition to gain entry to the lottery. In the next school year, grades six and seven will be entered into a general lottery for entry, and so on.


Ranking

In the 2002–2003 school year, OSA received a score of 8 (out of 10) on the STAR ( California Standardized Testing and Reporting Program) test (the highest in the school district) and in the 2003–2004 year, it received a 9, again the highest score in the district. While there was a significant drop in test scores during the 2005–06 school year, the school rebounded with improved scores for the 2006–2007 school year. From 2008 through 2014, OSA demonstrated gains each year, achieving a score of 829 in 2012 and 837 in 2013.


Reception

During its first several years, OSA suffered a high rate of faculty and student turnover among other management problems. Changes increased faculty/staff retention to 97% in the 2008-9 and 2009–10 school years, and has retained more than 90% of its staff in all the ensuing years. The school was criticized after Jerry Brown used an advertising billboard to raise funds. A large, lighted electronic
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
with rotating ads was installed at the toll plaza on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge, with the proceeds benefiting OSA. The billboard was criticized because it was so bright that motorists complained it impaired their vision at night, and some residents around the bay objected to its high visibility even from San Francisco and Marin. In another controversy, Brown sent out letters to Oakland families recruiting them to apply to OSA in 2007, after he had become California state
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, and using his title and the state seal.Murphy, Katy (September 6, 2007
Jerry Brown writes families, plugs charter school – The Education Report – Katy Murphy covers what’s going on in the Oakland schools
ibabuzz.com
Some questioned the legality of the letters, but the designated official to rule on their legality would be the California state Attorney General. Brown deemed the letters legal.


Notable artists from OSA

* Sasha Berliner, jazz vibraphonist * Tati Gabrielle, actress *
Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...
, musician, singer, songwriter, dancer * Kriesha Chu, singer * Adrian Marcel, singer, songwriter, Actor * Ari'el Stachel, actor *
Zendaya Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. List of awards and nominations received by Zendaya, Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award. I ...
, actress * Alysa Liu, figure skater * Angus Cloud, actor * Jwalt, rapper * Leila Mottley, author


References


External links


Oakland School for the Arts websiteExperience Oakland School for the Arts on VimeoOakland Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakland School For The Arts Education in Oakland, California Charter preparatory schools in California Schools in Alameda County, California High schools in Alameda County, California Schools of the performing arts in the United States 2002 establishments in California