Shortly after New Year’s Day this year, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine announced they would open a high school in the South Los Angeles area. It will serve as an extension of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, an undergraduate program the duo created in back 2013. Specifics about the school were not revealed at the time of the announcement, but now that’s changed.
According to Billboard, The school will open in the fall of 2022 through a partnership between the duo and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The innovative high school, which is tentatively named Regional High School No. 1, will house 124 ninth and tenth graders, with plans to later accommodate a total of 250 students. It will also offer a unique curriculum that focuses on multidisciplinary, hands-on learning and emphasizes real-world projects. The school will be built on the Audubon Middle School campus in South Los Angeles.
During a press conference on Monday, both Dre and Iovine spoke about the upcoming school. “I think it’s going to be something extremely different,” Dre said. “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.” He added, “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.”
Iovine added, “I didn’t have great experiences at school and I don’t believe Dre did either, but it feels awesome to be here because the idea is to try … It’s incredible to be here and we come here with complete humility. We know how difficult this is, but we hope that we don’t get criticized for trying, because that’s the most important thing.”
Iovine concluded, “I want to encourage people like us that are fortunate and have success to come to these neighborhoods and really do something positive.”