History

The vision for a comprehensive arts high school originated with Caroline Ahmanson in the late 1970's. Just as the arts were beginning to flourish in Los Angeles County, funding for school-based performing and visual arts programs was diminishing – and has continued to do so. Since that time, gifted and talented teens have had fewer and fewer educational options.

In 1979, Caroline Ahmanson, chairman of the Education Committee of the Music Center, Music Center President Michael Newton and Music Center Education Division Director Joan Boyett recognized this void and began exploring the concept of a public arts school in Los Angeles County. It was a unique vision. Specialized comprehensive high schools were new in California, and Ahmanson and Newton were proposing a school that would provide free professional arts training combined with a rigorous academic program.

Through a grant made possible by the Ahmanson Foundation, twelve representatives from the top twelve arts schools in the country came to Los Angeles to discuss their schools, curriculum, admission requirements, and potential pitfalls to opening a specialized high school.

Partnerships were then forged with Supervisor Michael Antonovich and then-Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes. Together, they formed a task force, chaired by Supervisor Antonovich, comprised of arts advocates and educators to continue exploring the Arts High concept. Then-Superintendent of Los Angeles County Public Schools, Stuart Gothold, became an instrumental task force leader. Following the Los Angeles conference, the task force formed a national coalition of arts experts and educators to study the feasibility of Arts High and to visit the existing leading arts schools. That coalition evolved into the Network of Performing and Visual Arts Schools which is still viable today.

As the plans for LACHSA proceeded, the most difficult problem became the issue of location. Mrs. Ahmanson developed a partnership with Ann Reynolds, former chancellor of the CSU system, who offered CSULA as the home for Arts High. Given the advantages of access to a wide range of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, studios, performance spaces, and the availability of public transportation, the task force readily accepted this offer.

Based on the national coalition's findings and those of the task force, Assemblywoman Hughes authored legislation calling for the creation of Arts High School. The bill passed the legislature in 1984 giving birth to Arts High. At the same time, the task force incorporated as the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Foundation and began raising funds for the school. Arts High opened in September 1985 and graduated its first class in 1987.        

Since that time, the LACHSA Foundation has steadily increased private funding for the arts programs so that programs could be expanded to meet the needs of the students and colleges and so that the quality of the arts programs could be sustained.  In 2005-2006, the LACHSA Foundation is contributing a total of $790,000 in arts program support and scholarships.  In addition, in 2002 the Foundation helped the school to win a $750,000 challenge grant for a performing arts endowment from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  Charged with matching that gift locally, one dollar for one dollar at the rate of $150,000 a year for five years, the Foundation has only $125,000 left to complete the challenge grant.