As is implied in its name, students have access to a wide variety of courses in the arts (dance, music, theater, and visual arts) and business. Middle school students receive arts and enterprise instruction through an exploratory wheel which enables them to explore different topics each quarter. The exploratory wheel content changes annually which provides students a broad exposure across the arts and enterprise. The 2019-2020 exploratory wheel includes: introduction to business, instrumental music, computer coding, and visual arts. Advanced middle school students may also enroll in high school or college level classes.
High school students follow an A-G curriculum and complete coursework in both the arts and business to graduate. Current high school academic course offerings range from intervention to college level and include 43 University of California / California State University A-G approved courses. Six of these are also currently authorized on the College Board’s AP Course Audit Ledger and include: AP 2-D Art Design, AP Calculus, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Environmental Science, AP Spanish Language and Culture, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. One hundred percent (100%) of the 18 students who took the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam in May 2019 earned a passing score.
Through a partnership with Los Angeles City College (LACC), students can take LACC courses at LAAAE. In 2019, LAAAE launched another dual enrollment pathway with LACC. This two-course sequence of one on-campus course and one off-campus dual-enrollment class focusing on Design, Visual and Media Arts, incorporates computer graphics and animation. Students can then transition to post-secondary education or training programs that lead to a career pathway or attain employment upon graduation.
After an extensive pursuit with the Federal Communications Commission, LAAAE, in consortium with the National Hispanic Media Coalition and other agencies, was granted broadcasting rights on 101.5 FM. Radio classes were launched in August 2017 to teach students requisite skills for broadcasting. There is a timeshare agreement among the broadcasting partners and each collectively contribute to the signal’s transmission. In August 2017, LAAAE partnered with the Latino Film Institute Youth Cinema Project. In that program, students engage deeply in all elements of filmmaking and create their own short film. Students are mentored weekly by members of the entertainment industry. In the culminating activity, students debut their films at the Linwood Dunn Theater – a screening facility for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2014, the “D” letter grade was eliminated in both the middle and high school educational program. All students are expected to earn at least a C in order to successfully complete a course.