West Covina Unified presents performing arts academy, students perform at city council

West Covina Unified School District officials presented the district’s Performing Arts Academy to the West Covina City Council on March 18 and students performed selections from the program.

The academy, housed at West Covina High School, offers students a four‑year, conservatory‑style curriculum with distinct emphases—dance, instrumental music, theater (acting and technical), and vocal music—while keeping students enrolled in the comprehensive high school, Superintendent Amy Flores said at the meeting. The program pairs intensive arts instruction with individualized academic planning, one‑on‑one private lessons and industry workshops, presenters said.

“Students would select an emphasis … and over the course of their four years of study, they would receive specialized and intense instruction in that emphasis,” the academy’s director said. He added that students also take classes across pillars—vocalists take dance, instrumental and acting classes—so graduates are well rounded for post‑secondary study or work in the industry.

Presenters said the academy sends graduating students on an East Coast networking trip to meet producers, directors and performers, and that the program has produced alumni working professionally, including a singer now at USC’s Thornton School of Music and a former student who appeared in a feature film screened at Sundance. The district also described a new performing arts center planned to include a roughly 650‑seat main stage, a black‑box theater, dance studios and an acoustically tuned vocal room.

During the presentation the council and community donors acknowledged the program’s local value. A representative of a local airline donated $3,000 to the academy at the meeting. Councilmembers and Superintendent Flores urged students and families to apply; presenters provided an application website, wchspaa.org.

The presentation concluded with a staged performance by academy students.