For producer Moctesuma Esparza, the founding of the Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise (LAAAE) is a reflection of his own experience and career.
The public charter school located in downtown Los Angeles serves grades 6 through 12 and focuses on the arts and business training.
Esparza, known for producing successful films such as Selena, Walkout and Taco Shop, founded the LAAAE school in 2004 with a full curriculum of classes required to graduate, including subjects from entrepreneurship, marketing, business, as well as dance, singing, orchestra, theater, cinema, animation and plastic arts.
“All the arts are covered in our school”, said Esparza in an interview with Real America News.
The producer and entertainment executive explained that there is a very common conception that artists have to be poor and suffer for their art, but it’s not true.
“It’s just a myth,” Esparza stressed. “People can be trained in their arts, and they can also get business training so that they can be successful, or they can get training and study business, while also getting rich from the arts.”
Since its founding, the LAAAE campus has served a predominantly minority, immigrant, and socially and economically marginalized population. It has approximately 150 students where more than 98% are Latino and low-income.
LAAAE’s mission is to create a generation of diverse, educated, and compassionate leaders in the arts and business by providing a dynamic and innovative education that integrates the four lenses of learning: academic, artistic, entrepreneurial, and personal growth.
Personalized help
Esparza stated that while the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) public schools have five counselors to serve 600 students , LAAAE has four counselors to serve 100 students.
Regarding the classrooms, there is one teacher for each 20 students.
Due to the emotional, psychological and community support that the school offers to the student body, the charter school is the only one in Los Angeles County to have earned a platinum award from the state of California recognizing this effort.
“We place great emphasis on supporting our students academically, emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually. We are there to make sure our students get the support they need so they can be successful,” said Esparza.
The producer stressed that the school offers programs where students can participate and be remunerated. There are currently 12 students who started a program to learn scenery, lighting, sets, props and performance management with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Center. There students are paid for the number of hours they work on the productions, while receiving academic credit.
So while they work, they learn and this gives them the opportunity to know if they are interested in a career related to film and production or if they are looking for something else.
There are students who have participated in summer seminars where they must reside on a university campus and study different careers, whether it be entrepreneurship, real estate, cinema or dance.
Plans in process
LAAAE is currently working on two programs that will be presented in the summer; one related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and the other on programming for computer games in which students learn the fundamentals of how to create a game, how the stories of the games are created, how the characters, avatars and what are the actual mechanics to complete it.
“All of our graduating students are eligible to attend the system of California State Universities (CSU) or the University of California (UC) system,” Esparza said. “We do not offer a D grade, so to pass all students must obtain at least a C grade, which is not an LAUSD requirement.”
He asserted that while the requirements are more demanding, the The result is a better educated student who will be accepted at any public or private university.
In addition, the school has a complete sports program with a men’s or women’s soccer team, a football team, and a baseball team.
Upon finishing high school, each student who graduates receives a scholarship of $100 as an appreciation and reminder to continue their education.
LAAAE School is located at 1018 Colton Street in Los Angeles. Those interested in enrolling can visit the school in person, by calling the phone number (100) 487-0600 or by visiting https://www.laaae.org/