By Khalida Sarwari
The Oakland School for the Arts will celebrate the opening of its new campus at the historic Fox Theater this afternoon.
The 1:30 p.m. grand opening ceremony for the public charter arts school, which was previously housed in temporary classrooms in a parking lot at 18th Street and San Pablo Avenue, is expected to be attended by Attorney General Jerry Brown and head of school Donn Harris.
Brown founded the school in 2002 when he was mayor of Oakland as a way to illuminate a positive aspect of the city and draw new residents, according to Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, the director of institutional advancement at the school.
“To me, it is his greatest legacy,” Frazier said.
She said the school, which serves middle and high school students, is open to students of all economic backgrounds but that one of its aims is to give underprivileged young people a chance to study the arts.
The school offers classes in performing, visual, literary and theater arts, instrumental and vocal music, and arts management, along with a college prep academic curriculum.
The Fox Theater, located at 350 Telegraph Avenue, opened in 1928 and hosted such entertainers as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Ginger Rogers before falling into disrepair in the 1970s. The complex was purchased by the city of Oakland in 1996 and rehabilitated at the cost of $76 million.
Through public and private funding by local foundations and businesses, the arts school was constructed at the cost of $6.9 million and will accommodate about 500 students.
“As a teacher of these kids, I can’t even express how happy I am to see their hard work housed in such a gorgeous facility,” Frazier said. “I am hoping that having a building around them will give them a stable place to learn and will let them know that the city believes in them.”
