| 1st | Top high schools in Orange County, California |
| Orange County High School of the Arts | |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| 1010 N. Main Street Santa Ana, California, 92701 United States |
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| Coordinates | 33°45′14″N 117°52′05″W / 33.753864°N 117.86798°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public charter school |
| Motto | Educating the Next Generation of World-Class Artists and Scholars |
| Established | 1987 |
| School district | Santa Ana Unified School District |
| Principal | Sue Vaughn |
| Faculty | 200 |
| Grades | 7-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,350 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | Star |
| Newspaper | Evolution |
| Yearbook | Dreamscape |
| Website | http://www.ocsarts.net |
Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), colloquially called "OH-sha", is a 7th-12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, Orange County, California. The school targets middle and high school students with talents in the performing and visual, and literary arts. The educational program prepares students for higher education institutions and/or employment in the professional arts industry. Both the academic and arts program are renowned, prompting recognition in the US News "Best High Schools" program.[1]
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The Orange County High School of the Arts reorganized as a public charter school on April 20, 2000, and relocated its primary facility from Los Alamitos High School to the Santa Ana Unified School District. OCHSA is a tuition free donation dependent public charter school 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 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.
The Orange County High School of the Arts provides a rigorous academic program that produces high achieving, motivated scholars. OCHSA's high school hours are from 8:10 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays. The middle school schedule is from 8:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays.
Until 1:30 p.m. each day, OCHSA students attend standard academic courses under a block schedule system with three academic classes per day, alternating 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 Statistics, AP Spanish, AP French, AP Literature and Composition, AP Language and Composition, AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Art History, and AP Music Theory. OCHSA also has a unique selection of electives including but not limited to Acting, Piano, Ceramics, Make-Up, Graphic Design, Taekwondo, and Photography.
OCHSA's 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) score of 871 ranked the school as one of the top five ranked high schools in Orange County and in the top 10 percent in California.
OCHSA was named a Blue Ribbon School (American education's top prize for an individual school) in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education. OCHSA was one of 250 Blue Ribbon schools recognized nationwide in 2006, among 35 schools in the State of California and five public schools in Orange County. OCHSA also was named a California Distinguished School.
According to the school, 99% of OCHSA alumni continue on to college[citation needed]. Students also must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to continue participating in their art conservatory.
The "Art Attack Live" is OCHSA's daily live television broadcast of the day's announcements. The show began broadcasting by a group of 4 students from the Film and Television (Jarrett Fein and Michael Nunes; Ryan Wilkinson and Robert Chambers on technical) conservatory in September 2003.
Today, crew members consist mostly of students from the school's Leadership (ASB) class and various students from other conservatories. The show is broadcast from one of OCHSA's two live television production studios in the technology building. Students at the school are given the opportunity to audition to become hosts of the show. This show is filled with creative people who make art attack a very interesting and unique part of OCHSA.
After 2:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, the school focuses on arts education, which is divided into 11 conservatories: Production and Design, Ballet Folklórico, Classical and Contemporary Dance, Commercial Dance, Creative Writing, Film and Television, Integrated Arts, Instrumental Music (divided into Classical Instrumental, Piano, and Jazz), Music and Theater (divided into Musical Theater, Drama, and Voice), Opera, and Visual Arts. Conservatory ends at 4:50 though students can stay later if necessary to rehearse or work.
James P. Blaylock, a fantasy author, is Director of the Creative Writing Department at OCHSA. The department's Writer in Residence is the award-winning fantasy author, Tim Powers. Every month the Creative Writing conservatory holds a reading.
The Instrumental Music Department holds many concerts throughout the year, and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in spring of 2006. Its Symphony Orchestra, directed by Chris Russell, performed in the Sydney Opera House in the summer of 2008.
The Production and Design Conservatory at OCHSA designs the costumes, lighting, audio, makeup, and sets for over 125 school performances each year. This year it welcomes a new director, Kevin Cook, and multiple new teachers including Aaron Kokesch, Wally Huntoon, Ray Gibson, and Scott Collins.
OCHSA's largest event is the annual Season Finale, which takes place in early June at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The Finale recognizes notable graduating seniors, information about each conservatory, theatrical presentations, and instrumental performances, often showcasing pieces from the top performances of that year.
OCHSA's Gala fundraiser is the other large event, held in coastal Orange County towards the end of March. Gala is a themed fundraising event in which OCHSA students from various conservatories showcase their talents. It takes place at a hotel ballroom converted into a fully-functioning theater by the Production and Design students. Gala's theme for 2009 is "Jubilee de Paris".
Because OCHSA is a commuter campus of students from 92 cities[citation needed], many students ride Metrolink and Amtrak train services, utilize OCTA bus service, or carpool with other students.
OCHSA has at least 3 high school dances every year: Homecoming (despite a lack of sports teams), Winter Formal, and Prom (11th and 12th grades only). All dances are themed, held at off-campus locations, and funded by ticket sales. For the 2006-2007 school year, the school added a "MORP" or "Backwards Prom".
The extended hours of OCHSA present a challenge to some students. Most students have to practice their specific art after school and still find time to finish their homework. Many students find little personal free time during the week between schoolwork, practicing their arts studies, homework, and traveling long distances to reach home. Before and after school and performances, many students visit local restaurants in the nearby Artists Village, such as the Gypsy Den or Starbucks.
OCHSA's campus consists of a seven-story office tower (formerly a bank) and three surrounding buildings. The main tower's bank vault is still in use as a teacher work area, and occasionally an octagonal theater.
OCHSA has two on-campus venues. Symphony Hall, a theater which holds most of OCHSA's medium to larger performances, was formerly a historic Church of Christian Science before being converted to a theater. The hall contains a theater, a side rehearsal room, separate practice rooms for instrumental musicians, a basement and library for the creative writers, a front of house audio booth, and a balcony overlooking the auditorium for Production and Design students. This balcony houses an ETC lighting booth, multiple Source Four followspots, and a Lycian M2 Followspot nicknamed " The Spartan laser ". There is a plan to expand Symphony Hall into an adjacent parking lot. The other on-campus venue is the Black Box theater, which holds most of OCHSA's smaller performances.
The single-story "technology building" houses the bulk of the Film and Television department, the computer graphics portion of the Visual Arts department, and a few administrative offices. There are two fully-equipped studios[citation needed], one primarily for live television production and the other for film work. There is also a computer lab and a number of individual video editing rooms. The campus's daily student-run news television program, the Art Attack Live, is broadcast from the television studio and adjacent control room.
Situated between the main campus and the technology building is the "totem pole", a five-story ceramic tower covered in tiles. It serves as a gathering place for students during break times as well as a loading and unloading zone.
OCHSA's "Annex" is a combination of two white, windowless buildings connected by a set of ramps referred to as the "cheese maze" or "Star Tours" (as coined by Vice Principal Mike Ciecek). The Annex is home to many dance and vocal rooms and contains the Production and Design workshop, where OCHSA's production sets are constructed and painted. The Annex also houses the "Harry Potter" room, a Creative Writing classroom at the base of the stairs connecting the building's two halves. The room contains a collection of screenplays and books, as well as padded pillows and beanbag chairs.
Alyssa Pritchett- Disney Movie
   | Orange County High School of the Arts - OCHSA Home Page |
| | California Department of Education - State Numbered Charter Schools in California (CA Dept of Education) |
| | Aerial photo of the campus - Address Imagery View |
| | GreatSchools.net - Orange County High School of the Arts - Santa Ana, California - CA - School overview |
| | here - Jonathan Formica Films / JDigital |
| | .ISM magazine - GE Four Line Business Phone (Made by Thompson)? - Phone QA |
| | Michael Frazier - FrazierArts.com Inc. |
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