They're big enough for a small child to sit upon, and they might be painted with red, blue and green polka dots and stripes. Whatever happens when an artist paints them.

Art is eternal and everywhere at Skyline where no one can bear to throw away a piece of art a student has happily toiled over.

The mushrooms were made in an art class years ago. When the teacher wondered what to do with them at the end of the semester, well, where else would you put a mushroom? Poking skyward throughout the grass, symbolizing the commitment to art at the school.

Many buildings have murals painted by students, and inside the dance classroom there's an epic mural covering the top half of a wall. The other half is a large poster board of smaller works of art.

How did this all happen here where there is no money except that which the Oakland public school district could spare? It's never been enough.

Parents like Kathy and David Kahn, co-chair of the Performing Arts Academy's parent organization, work hard with other parents toraise money — lots of it — for such things as the renovation of the auditorium several years ago.

The Kahns didn't express an opinion about the downtown School of the Arts sponsored by Mayor Jerry Brown except to say they like their program better because it serves only Oakland students and it is much larger, with as many as 800 students taking one or many of theclasses offered: drama, dance, music, singing, fine arts, technical art. The academy has a core of about 125 students who concentrate on art but also are enrolled in the broader educational curriculum.

But don't get the idea this is just a wimpy art hangout. Right now the students are circulating a petition urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reinstate

$6 million in arts education funds and $10 million designated for arts education through the California Art Council. Both were cut in 2003.

On a recent rainy morning, students Xelha Weisman, a dancer, and Matt Cohen-Price, a theater technician, show me and the Kahns around the campus. When we step inside the school's theater, Xelha tells how she plays the role of a deaf and mute person in "Runaways." The musical runs Wednesday through April 2.

It's not easy. She had to learn sign language for one thing.

Matt showed off the auditorium's high-tech lighting system that was installed when the parents raised money to renovate the auditorium. Each seat has a plaque affixed with someone's name, either the donor or a person who is memorialized.

Actor Tom Hanks, who graduated from Skyline years ago and always speaks highly of the school, has a couple of rows of seats with his name on them. Almost $400,000 was raised for the project. He was a major contributor .

When we step into dance teacher Dawn James' class, 32 young women in an intermediate class are moving through dance movements in syncopation. In most classes there also are male dancers, James assures us.

As we watch, Kathy says not only do they dance well, they excel academically, with 90 percent of all Academy graduates going on to four-year colleges or a two-year program at community college.

Walking through the totally clean campus, I ask why Skyline High has a bad rep with some people in the community. Kathy and David think it's because a few neighbors don't like living near a high school or, "It could be because of rumors they hear. Actually, we have some of the best teachers in the school district." Maybe the detractors should visit Skyline more often.

Skyline is an open enrollment high school so students from all over the city attend. In 2002-03, 52 percent of the graduates planned to attend college; 38 percent a two-year college; and 6 percent a trade school.

There is free tutoring on campus for students who need it as well as programs for extraordinary talent.

In the theater lobby there is a display of statements by Skyline student artists. Jose Gonzalez said it well: "Music has taken me so many places. I couldn't imagine how my life would be now if I hadn't taken music. It has become a great part of my life and myself."

Oakland Tribune
401 13th Street
Oakland, California 94612
(510) 208-6330 Switchboard
(510) 293-2709 Online Content
www.oaklandtribune.com