Performing Arts School’s Curtain Rises

Los Alamitos High School senior Ted Hisquierdo grinned when asked if he watches “Fame,” the popular TV show based on the New York High School of the Performing Arts.

“Yes,” he said, “and everybody has been teasing me about that, too--’Are you going to that ‘Fame’ school?’ ”

That “Fame” school, as the 18-year-old aspiring dancer’s friends call it, is the Orange County High School of the Performing Arts.

The long-awaited school-within-a-school opened Thursday on the Los Alamitos High School campus.

Hisquierdo is one of 118 students enrolled in the tuition-free program that is open to all promising high school visual and performing arts students living in Orange County and neighboring Los Angeles County communities who have auditioned and met other requirements.

The students, who will specialize in musical theater, dance, art or technical theater, were chosen from more than 350 aspiring performers who tried out in a series of auditions held during the summer.

“They’re enthusiastic and talented,” Los Alamitos High School assistant principal Bruce Moffitt said. “You can feel the energy in the rooms.”

Part of that may be nervous energy.

“Yes, I was having anxiety attacks!” said dancer Stephanie Metcalf, a 16-year-old El Modena High School junior.

Hisquierdo, who transferred to Los Alamitos High from Long Beach’s Wilson High, said he was looking forward to the first day of school so much that he couldn’t get to sleep the night before.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “I think everybody is.”

Based on its strength in the performing arts, Los Alamitos High School was selected last March as the site of the county’s only performing arts high school. The Los Alamitos High School District received a $194,700 grant from the state Department of Education to develop the program.

“We’ve been working all summer just to get the doors open,” said Ralph Opacic, the new school’s director and the vocal music teacher at Los Alamitos High.

Potential Drain?

Although budding student performers throughout the county were elated that the performing arts high school would open this fall, many financially strapped school administrators did not share their enthusiasm.

As those officials view it, the new school represents a potential drain on both artistically gifted students and dollars. The state provides about $3,000 for each student enrolled during the academic year.

To help alleviate those concerns, more emphasis was placed on recruiting part-time students, who will continue to take their academic courses in their “home district” and commute to Los Alamitos for the afternoon arts classes.

Opacic said just 43 students made interdistrict transfers to attend the performing arts high school full time. Some of those students, however, are experiencing difficulty getting their transfers approved by their school districts.

Opacic said the performing arts high school is offering 20 units of credit, which is the equivalent of two full-year courses. With most schools, the units will transfer as fine arts or physical education credit, but “some schools are not enthusiastic about letting these credits transfer,” he said.

‘A Positive Program for Kids’

“I think a lot of those problems will solve themselves, and I think as other school districts see the quality of the program and instructors we have, they’re going to realize that it’s a positive program for kids. And they’ll be more supportive in letting the kids go.”

Opacic said $101,000 of the state grant is being used to remodel the performing arts center theater on campus. The balance of the grant money and a supplemental $45,900 from the district are paying for the 17 part-time teachers in the program.

“I’m pleased with the staff we have working, and I’m real excited about the caliber of talent we have and their enthusiasm for the program,” he said.