Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are set to open a new high school in south LA.
The Beats co-founders have partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District for the venture, with Dre and Iovine having previously spoken about their educational plans back in May 2020.
The new school – which will be known as ‘Regional High School #1’ “until the official naming process is completed” – will be located on the Audubon Middle School campus and will initially welcome 124 students, with plans to expand to up to 250 students in the future. It is expected to open in the autumn of 2022.
The school’s curriculum will focus on “multidisciplinary, hands-on learning, with a strong emphasis on real-world projects with top companies and non-profits”. It’s set to follow the approach taken by the University of Southern California (USC) Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, which “combines design, business and technology with hands-on, real-world learning to help develop young leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs”.
“Students will be exposed to new career paths and opportunities as well as increased access to top college programs through a first-class college preparatory curriculum, and enhanced learning programs that focus on critical thinking and analysis,” a press release from the Los Angeles Unified School District adds about the school.
The doors of opportunity open for children in South LA. https://t.co/TJ24pZZmZE #DrDre #JimmyIovine @USCIovineYoung @USC @LAUSD_LDWest @HEET_LDWest @DrGeorgeMcKenna #AudubonMiddleSchool pic.twitter.com/sKE1m2jQnp
— Austin Beutner (@AustinLASchools) June 14, 2021
Iovine said of the new school: “We want to give the next generation of students access to a proven, revolutionary learning experience that will not only prepare them for the jobs of today, but equip them to reimagine and shape the jobs, technologies and creative enterprises of the future.
“We’ve already succeeded in higher ed, now we’re bringing it to high school.”
Addressing reporters at a press conference on Monday (June 14, via Billboard), Dre added: “I think it’s going to be something extremely different. I’m still trying to learn myself and understand the politics and the hurdles that we have to get over to help.
“All we’re here to do is help the kids. We’re here strictly for the kids and trying to give them a future and something promising that maybe wasn’t available before then, so that is our intent.”
Speaking to the LA Times this week, Dre opened up about the treatment he recently received after suffering a brain aneurysm earlier this year.