Orange County School of the Arts | |
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Address | |
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 |
Faculty | 200 |
Grades | 7–12 |
Enrollment | 1,920 |
Campus | Urban |
Color(s) | yellow, orange, red, purple, blue (new) |
Newspaper | Evolution |
Yearbook | Dreamscape |
Website | http://www.ocsarts.net |
Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), colloquially called "OH-sha", which is retained from a mispronunciation of the previous acronym for the previous name of the school (respectively "Orange County High School of the Arts" and "OCHSA"), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, Orange County, California, United States. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, and culinary arts. The educational program prepares students for higher education institutions or employment in the professional arts industry. Both the academic and arts program have prompted recognition in the US News' "Best High Schools" program. OCSA recently changed its school name from "Orange County High School of the Arts" (OCHSA) to "Orange County School of the Arts" to reflect the inclusion of middle school students.
The Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) was founded in 1987 and reorganized as a public charter school on April 20, 2000. During that time the school was relocated from its primary facility at Los Alamitos High School to the Santa Ana Unified School District. OCSA 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 supported by The Orange County School of the Arts Foundation which is a non-profit organization for 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 the input and guidance of the development staff 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.
In the summer of 2012, the name of the school was changed from OCHSA (Orange County High School of the Arts) to OCSA (Orange County School of the Arts).