The school will serve 1,700 students in four small learning communities - dance, theatre, music, and visual arts. 1,200 students will come from the local area. 500 seats will be set aside for students from other communities across LAUSD. Construction is well underway and the school is projected to open in September 2009. The school will be led by a principal and an executive director, who will focus on resource development and community partnerships. Both will be LAUSD employees and report to the local district superintendent for this area. A support organization -- Discover the Arts -- has been created to help raise funds and secure other program resources for the new high school. The Music Center, its' resident companies, and the other cultural organizations along Grand Avenue are excited about the new high school and look forward to developing collaborations to support the students and faculty. In the near term, the Music Center and its Grand Avenue colleagues are focused on strengthening arts education in three local middle schools that will send students to the new high school -- Berendo, Leichty, and Virgil. Plans are bring developed to support the arts teachers in these schools, expand professional development opportunities, and increase access for students and parents to participate in live arts experiences at the Grand Avenue venues.