Step it Up

“My parents have always pushed me to do what I love . They knew I had a huge imagination and loved performing arts, so they told me about this school and enrolled me in Step it Up . I met most of my friends through Step it Up . It changed my life . ”

—9th Grade Theatre Student

OSA established Step it Up in 2013 with a goal of making an arts education accessible to underserved Oakland youth and to provide training and preparation for students to enroll at OSA. The program provides students in grades 5 through 8, who reside in the City of Oakland and attend Title 1 schools that lack arts education, with free instruction in one of several different arts disciplines: Visual Art, Theatre, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Media Arts, Dance, Literary Arts, and Production Design. Participants learn foundational and technical skills, and are taught by professional artists, teachers, and student assistants. In 2021–22, 60 students completed Step it Up and 20 of those students enrolled at OSA in the fall of the 2022–23 school year.