The School of Arts and Enterprise (SAE) opened in the fall of 2003 with a 9th grade class, and currently serves 280 students in grades 9-11. Located in the city of Pomona, California, it is the 6th of 10 schools charted by the State Board of Education on appeal after a struggle with their local school district. Its mission is to educate an ethnic and demographic cross section of high school students through a rigorous, college-preparatory, project-based curriculum. Emphasis is on developing specific arts- related skills for self expression, creative team-work, and employability in arts, media, and design-based businesses. Students of the SAE learn entrepreneurial skills through internships and as a result, the school is an important stimulus to local economic development. The school draws local artists to contribute their work and mentorship to the school.
The student population is 79% Hispanic and African American with about 1/2 eligible for free and reduced lunch and 1/3 English Language Learners. Over two years, the school jumped from a 538 to a 627 on the California Academic Performance Index and has met AYP. More than 2/3 of the 10th grade students passed the CAHSEE in English and more than ½ in Math. They outperform almost every high school in their area and in the fall of 2005 were awarded the rigorously demanding WASC Accreditation, Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
The SAE is a high school where students enjoy the benefits of learning beyond classroom walls. They work on integrated curriculum projects that take them into the surrounding arts and business community where they explore the community’s history, community issues and investigate the use of community resources. The school emphasizes two areas of expertise: First, the visual and performing arts. Students receive an extensive foundation in creative analysis, composition, design and performance. The second area of expertise is business skills. All too often talented artists fail to make the most of their potential due to a lack of familiarity with the basic business practices and a lack of entrepreneurial motivation. The SAE students receive training in business planning, human resources, marketing, budgeting and financing, business law, contracts, etc. The school minimizes the traditional lecture and recite instruction, replacing it with Integrated Project Based Instruction and Learning (IPBIL). IPBIL is the process of tapping into existing student motivation and using their desire to understand material to allow the standards to teach themselves through a practical, true-to-life, experience that draws from all core curricular subjects. Each semester, students are assigned experiential learning projects that demand research and solving problems which represent real world, market-place situations.
The school is located in a beautifully renovated warehouse in the downtown Pomona arts district and its interiors have large open rooms conducive to project based learning and galleries for exhibiting work. The students use the YMCA facilities across the street and have access to after school enrichment programs in the arts and sports.
