Orange County High School of the Arts

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OCHSA
OCHSA

Established in 1987, the prestigious Orange County High School of the Arts (a.k.a. "OCHSA (pronounced O-SHA)") is a 7th thru 12th grade, tuition free, donation dependent, public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, in Orange County, California. The school targets middle and high school students with talents in the performing and visual arts. The educational program prepares students for higher education institutions and/or employment in the professional arts industry.

The school property itself consists of a 7-story tower which was an old bank (and still includes the vault), a new "technology building" built specifically for the school, a 3-story "annex" infamous for its split-level setup of floors, and an old historic church which was renovated into Symphony Hall, which consists of practice rooms and chambers for musicians, some classrooms, and a midsize theatre, complete with balcony seating.

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[edit] School history

The Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) reorganized as a public charter school and relocated its primary facility from Los Alamitos High School to the Santa Ana Unified School District. OCHSA is an independent nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Trustees representing parents, the community, educators, and the Santa Ana Unified School District.

The school is also supported by The Orange County High School of the Arts Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to the financial support of the school's tuition-free artistic programs, as well as its ongoing expansion plans. The Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of prominent business and cultural leaders. With Development staff's input and guidance, the Foundation Board of Directors establishes fund-raising goals, manages long-term strategic planning, implements the school's capital, public relations and marketing campaigns, and oversees funding criteria. Members pay annual dues, serve on fundraising committees, attend the school's activities, and serve as ambassadors to the community-at-large.

[edit] Academics

A common misconception is that OCHSA is a school that focuses only on the arts. This is not true, as the school has quite rigorous academic courses. OCHSA's 2005 Academic Performance Index (API) score of 856 ranked the school as one of the top five high schools in Orange County and in the top ten percent in California.

OCHSA uses a block schedule system, having only three academic classes per day. The three classes students have alternate each day for a total of six classes.

Honors classes are offered as well as many Advanced Placement classes including AP World History, AP U.S. History, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP French, AP English, AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Art History, AP Studio Art, and AP Music Theory. OCHSA also has a very large and unique selection of electives including but not limited to Piano, Ceramics, Taekwondo, and Photography.

The Student Body, or ASB, is run differently than most high-schools. It is run by Leadership, and it is a group of about 50 who are not elected by the student body, rather appointed via application by a panel, much like interviewing for a job. The current advisors are Chris Dion and Ryan Correia.

OCHSA is a unique school, with school hours from 8:30 a.m. - 4:50 p.m. due to the after school arts conservatory classes. 99% of OCHSA alumni continue on to college. The other percent often attend conservatories or find a career pertaining to their specific form of art.

OCHSA has been named a Blue Ribbon School for 2006, by the U.S. Department of Education. This is education's top prize for an individual school. OCHSA was one of 250 schools nationwide, and was one of only five public schools in Orange County, and one of only 35 schools in the State of California, to receive this prestigious award.

[edit] Arts

The famous totem pole found on the Main Street side of OCHSA's campus.
The famous totem pole found on the Main Street side of OCHSA's campus.

Though it is consistently ranked as one of Orange County's top 5 academic high schools, the school focuses on arts education, which is divided into 11 conservatories: Ballet Folklórico, Classical Dance, Commercial Dance, Creative Writing, Film and Television, Integrated Arts, Instrumental Music (sub-sections such as Piano, Jazz band, Wind Ensemble, Chamber music, Guitar, Symphony and Concert Orchestras), Music and Theatre (sub-sections of Musical Theatre, Drama, and Voice) , Opera, Production and Design, and Visual Arts.

Director of the Creative Writing Department at OCHSA is the fantasy author, James P. Blaylock. The department's Writer in Residence is the award-winning fantasy author, Tim Powers.

The Instrumental Music department holds many concerts throughout the year, and performed at the very prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City in spring of 2006.

OCHSA's biggest event is the annual 'Season Finale' which takes place at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

[edit] Student life

Because it is a commuter campus with students from 92 cities, many of them ride the Metrolink and Amtrak train services or transit buses, or they carpool with other students.

The school has no sports fields or sports teams. As a result, Physical Education is anything that can be done in a dance room. These activities include taekwondo, ballet, tap dance, jazz dance, body conditioning, and new for the 2007-2008 school year, ballroom dancing. OCHSA's school colors are blue and gold.

As it is a school for the artistically-inclined, the students as a whole are quite colorful, both literally (creative self-expression takes fashion to its most extreme) and figuratively. Remarkably diverse racially, politically and theologically, the students' intellectual and spiritual convictions are all over the map. However, despite such variety, the environment somehow manages to cultivate a school-wide ambience of mutual respect and acceptance - the only "outcasts" are the occasional students who have chosen isolation as a preference; most high schools practice exclusivity as a rule: ostracizing, demoralizing, humiliating, and occasionally even causing physical harm to those who don't fit in.

Because of the long hours of OCHSA, it is a very rigorous school. Many students have to practice their specific art after school and still find time to finish their homework, particularly students in conservatories that require after-school participation. For example: Music and Theatre, Instrumental Music, and the dance conservatories often stay after school for their individual conservatory performances, while the Production and Design students stay after to work on shows for every conservatory. The students have little time to themselves during the week between schoolwork, practicing their arts studies, homework, and traveling long distances to reach home.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

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