"It’s the last semester of the 2023-24 school year, and many 8th graders are wondering about high school." - Isaiah Kahn, 8th grade
At OSA, the differences between middle school and high school aren’t insignificant. The day ends a full hour later on most days and much more focus is placed on your art. Because of this, OSA high school has produced many great artists over the years. A recent example is Literary Arts alumni Leila Mottley, who published a New York Times BestSelling novel titled Nightcrawling that went on to win many awards, and made it all the way to Oprah’s Book Club. So, how does OSA and Literary Arts in particular, use its extra arts time—and what sort of change in culture does that create?
“OSA’s arts offering is really outstanding, and the fact that it's free for students is also outstanding,” says Jordan Karnes, Literary Arts Chair. “High school students here get to take really rigorous arts classes for three hours a day. I also think that the environment at an art school is always going to be fundamentally different from other high schools. It attracts a certain kind of student—they're usually creative, a little weird, and looking for something different.”
“The extra hours are probably the biggest difference,” said Maya Mastropasqua, a 9th grader in the Literary Arts department. “I know people who are switching after this year because you have to leave at 4:30 every day. You can’t have a job and you can’t do sports or anything after school, and that’s kind of hard to get used to.”
The extra hour for high school arts leads to more intense and complex training in your art, which makes students get more out of it according to Mastropasqua.
“The kind of arts training you can get at OSA is pretty unparalleled at the high school level,” says Amelia Whitcomb, one of three Literary Arts teachers. “At least in Literary Arts. It's like being in an MFA program in high school: the curriculum, the opportunities, and the level of concentration is not just college-level, but graduate level.”
OSA is one of 25 art high schools in California, according to a Niche article. This article ranked Oakland School for the Arts as the 9th best arts school on the list with reviewers giving it 4 out of 5 stars and 159 reviews.
“I would recommend OSA to somebody serious about the art that they do and seriously wants to pursue it,” said Mastropasqua. “I think that high school forces you to take it more seriously and get more out of it. I don’t feel like I got as much out of it in middle school.”
“For Literary Arts, the change from middle school to high school is significant,” said Karnes. “Class offerings are more diverse, and there's more agency for students in what they want to focus on. The stakes just get a little higher, too. The writing often gets more personal, there are more opportunities for sharing your work with department readings and public readings, and then of course there are workshops.”
Workshops are classes where you can read something you wrote aloud and get constructive criticism and feedback from your peers. “One class per semester is a workshop course,” says Whitcomb, “meaning part of the requirement for that class is giving and receiving critique and in-depth feedback as a group. While we do peer edits in middle school, the workshop experience is more detailed and communal. We also save the last period of certain Fridays for readings, and students are expected to read their work to the whole department.”
“The intensity of arts in high school surprised me,” said Mastropasqua. “I think in middle school, arts was like this fun thing you do in the middle of the day, but in high school, you have to be at least somewhat serious about it because you give up a lot to do it. I think most people who end up staying all the way through high school are gonna do something with their art.”
Karnes agreed with this sentiment. “The workload increases a bit, just because the class load does, too,” they said. “However, Lit Arts doesn't give homework as a general rule—but the days are longer, and therefore you're just expected to keep up with readings, discussions, and writing. This is definitely an adjustment for many incoming 9th graders. You're in school till 4:30, and you're writing. And writing can be really hard. But, most students adjust, and figure out their rhythm—especially once they've started writing pieces they're really proud of. You definitely have to want it, if that makes sense.”
“I think in the time that I’ve been here it has been a good fit for me,” concluded Mastropasqua. “I think there’s a lot to be said for having arts education every day and learning the discipline of writing every day especially, I’m glad that I did it.”
“OSA’s arts offering is really outstanding, and the fact that it's free for students is also outstanding,” says Jordan Karnes, Literary Arts Chair. “High school students here get to take really rigorous arts classes for three hours a day. I also think that the environment at an art school is always going to be fundamentally different from other high schools. It attracts a certain kind of student—they're usually creative, a little weird, and looking for something different.”
“The extra hours are probably the biggest difference,” said Maya Mastropasqua, a 9th grader in the Literary Arts department. “I know people who are switching after this year because you have to leave at 4:30 every day. You can’t have a job and you can’t do sports or anything after school, and that’s kind of hard to get used to.”
The extra hour for high school arts leads to more intense and complex training in your art, which makes students get more out of it according to Mastropasqua.
“The kind of arts training you can get at OSA is pretty unparalleled at the high school level,” says Amelia Whitcomb, one of three Literary Arts teachers. “At least in Literary Arts. It's like being in an MFA program in high school: the curriculum, the opportunities, and the level of concentration is not just college-level, but graduate level.”
OSA is one of 25 art high schools in California, according to a Niche article. This article ranked Oakland School for the Arts as the 9th best arts school on the list with reviewers giving it 4 out of 5 stars and 159 reviews.
“I would recommend OSA to somebody serious about the art that they do and seriously wants to pursue it,” said Mastropasqua. “I think that high school forces you to take it more seriously and get more out of it. I don’t feel like I got as much out of it in middle school.”
“For Literary Arts, the change from middle school to high school is significant,” said Karnes. “Class offerings are more diverse, and there's more agency for students in what they want to focus on. The stakes just get a little higher, too. The writing often gets more personal, there are more opportunities for sharing your work with department readings and public readings, and then of course there are workshops.”
Workshops are classes where you can read something you wrote aloud and get constructive criticism and feedback from your peers. “One class per semester is a workshop course,” says Whitcomb, “meaning part of the requirement for that class is giving and receiving critique and in-depth feedback as a group. While we do peer edits in middle school, the workshop experience is more detailed and communal. We also save the last period of certain Fridays for readings, and students are expected to read their work to the whole department.”
“The intensity of arts in high school surprised me,” said Mastropasqua. “I think in middle school, arts was like this fun thing you do in the middle of the day, but in high school, you have to be at least somewhat serious about it because you give up a lot to do it. I think most people who end up staying all the way through high school are gonna do something with their art.”
Karnes agreed with this sentiment. “The workload increases a bit, just because the class load does, too,” they said. “However, Lit Arts doesn't give homework as a general rule—but the days are longer, and therefore you're just expected to keep up with readings, discussions, and writing. This is definitely an adjustment for many incoming 9th graders. You're in school till 4:30, and you're writing. And writing can be really hard. But, most students adjust, and figure out their rhythm—especially once they've started writing pieces they're really proud of. You definitely have to want it, if that makes sense.”
“I think in the time that I’ve been here it has been a good fit for me,” concluded Mastropasqua. “I think there’s a lot to be said for having arts education every day and learning the discipline of writing every day especially, I’m glad that I did it.”
