People
This SPA team member is the only individual to win two of our "big" annual awards.
Who is Melissa Kirmsse?
The location in Concord that was originally proposed for the SPA campus.
What is the Concord Pavilion?
The name of the award SPA earned in the 2020-21 year as part of the California School Recognition Program.
What is the California Exemplary Arts Education Award?
This traditional spa service was requested (and denied) at our old downtown Walnut Creek office many months before the school opened.
What is a massage?
The musical that SPA had started rehearsing before we went into COVID lock down.
What is Into the Woods?
This SPA team member is the only current Arts Director to be hired before the school opened.
Who is Katherine Orloff?
The nickname given to room 124 before its extra set of interior windows were removed.
What is the fishbowl?
The name of the first prestigious post-secondary arts program acceptance for a SPA graduate and the name of the accepted student (who went on to attend said program).
What is NYU, Tisch School of the Arts and who is Kristina Jewett?
The name of the song for the SPA team flashmob that happened at UFH during our very first week with students.
What is "Dance Like Yo Daddy"?
The arts school where Brianna Shahvar was previously the high school principal.
What is Oakland School for the Arts?
These current SPA team members have grown their families with babies while employed at SPA (there are five).
Who is Alivia, Leticia, Rachel, Nayia, Cyntra, and Neil?
The number of campus maps SPA has had in five years of operation.
What is seven?
This was the outcome of SPA's initial accreditation bid with WASC.
What is "candidacy" status (not accredited)?
The name of the film that was shown when we rented out a movie theater and invited all of the newly enrolled first year SPA students the summer before SPA opened.
What is The Jungle Book?
The most recent professional show SPA vocal major student Tyler Hennessey was cast in (right before the pandemic).
What is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?
This SPA team member played trombone in the pit for the first SPA musical.
Who is Amy Hiatt?
The number of different types of flooring in the current SPA campus.
What is seven?
The vote on the SPA charter renewal (ayes and nays).
What is 4 to 1?
The SPA team member who was completely forgotten when the staff was introduced to the SPA students and families on the opening day of year one.
Who is Lisa Kingsbury?
The SPA student organization that is asked annually to perform as part of the Contra Costa County Supervisor's MLK day celebration.
What is the SPA Black Student Union?
These current SPA team members attended the original charter petition public hearings six years ago (there are three).
Who is Melissa Kirmsse, Veronica Woods, and Lisa Kingsbury?
The type of fabric used to construct divider curtains, hung on volleyball nets along the half-court lines at UFH, in an attempt to create division between our "classrooms."
What is denim?
This SPA team member is the mother of one of Neil's all-time favorite students (from when he was an English teacher).
Who is Judy Malley?
The vote on the initial SPA startup petition (ayes and nays).
What is 0 to 5?
This is the "r" word that was added to the mission statement by the staff right before we opened the school.
What is resilience?