SlitheyTove

My 8th grade D2 would love to attend the LA County High School for the Arts in Drama. Ignoring the entire audition aspect for now, I'm trying to gather up whatever information on the program I can find. Are there any MT forum denizens who are familiar with the program, its reputation, its upsides and downsides, really anything?

Thanks in advance!

researching4emb

I know many LACHSA kids, both current students and now alums. My kids didn't go there, but many friends do, and I've seen several productions and concerts. Excellent acting, musical theater, dance, music, visual arts.... the works. Academics are not nearly as strong, although if a kid is really focused and motivated, he/she can do well. But it's also easy to coast academically. The arts classes are demanding and require a lot of time. The current college students I know who came out of there (mostly as musicians or actors) all got into good-fit colleges and are following their dreams. It's also got a rep for a certain artsy wildness, with a lot of drugs, but I haven't heard of any really scary problems.

hushinfazen

I am very familiar with LACHSA as my daughter attended. Reaserching4emb has it right regarding all the arts programs and how important "focus" is in order to stay on top of academics, however I disagree with the somewhat negative review on the academics. They provide all the UC requirements and the AP classes necessary to apply to all the top Universities in the US. They have some more excellent teachers then not and success in that endeavor is dependent on the students desire to do what it takes (and parents expectations) along with the very demanding schedule that usually ensues with whatever art, drama, music, opera, dance they have chosen. Drugs are there, distractions are there... but I will argue that any parent who thinks the very same issues don't exist in any high school or middle school for that matter ... might, well that's another discussion.
If your child is fortunate enough to get in to LACHSA (audition only) I would give it serious consideration.

cartera45

Coincidentally, I attended a film festival last weekend and one of the leads in one of my favorite films is a student there. It was her first time cast in a role and she did a nice job. I don't know, however, whether she was a student at the time of the filming or enrolled after.

SlitheyTove

Thanks very much! I'm going to take D2 to the evening Q&A session and the tour in a few weeks. I don't see D2 as being a tippy-top University kid, but I would expect her to be UC eligible, and to have enough academic preparation to not be totally overwhelmed by college academics. Talking with a LACHSA staff member today, I was told the same things about focus and time management being important. Which is something of a concern, as D2 could easily slide into that "coasting along" mindset.