New County Arts High School to Begin Accepting Applications

High school students from 16 San Gabriel Valley public school districts may begin Friday to apply for admission to the new Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. The application period will end April 17.

Located at California State University, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts is the first public high school in the county to concentrate on the visual and performing arts. Patterned after the New York High School made famous in the television series “Fame,” the high school’s arts curriculum will include music, visual arts, dance and drama.

The school is scheduled to open in September with 200 10th- and 11th-grade students selected from 32 school districts countywide and will offer the academic subjects necessary for graduation and entrance into a university. Students will spend their entire school day on campus and benefit from regular Cal State L.A. arts classes and facilities.

In the San Gabriel Valley, students may obtain application forms from the following school districts that permit transfers to the performing and visual arts high school:

Alhambra City and High School District, Arcadia Unified School District, Baldwin Park Unified School District, Bonita Unified School District, Claremont Unified School District, Covina-Valley Unified School District, El Monte Union High School District, Glendora Unified School District, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, Monrovia Unified School District, Pasadena Unified School District, Pomona Unified School District, Rowland Unified School District, South Pasadena Unified School District, Walnut Valley Unified School District and West Covina Unified School District.

The selection process will be based on student applications, interviews, an audition for those in the performing arts and a portfolio review for applicants in the visual arts. Auditions, portfolio reviews and interviews will be held in May. Final selections will be announced May 31.