Dr. Dre, Compton unveil new $200 million high school
The Brief
Officials in Compton unveiled a new $200 million high school.
Compton native, Dr. Dre, donated $10 million for a performing arts center.
Compton Unified School District expects to welcome its first class of students in August.
LOS ANGELES - Dr. Dre made a special appearance Thursday at Compton High School for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a $200 million campus.
Dr. Dre donated $10 million for a performing arts center.
What we know
The new 31-acre campus for the nearly 120-year-old school will serve more than 1,800 students and feature a 140,639-square-foot academic building, a 36,534-square-foot gymnasium, a half-size Olympic pool and enhanced landscaping with California native plants, officials said.
The project was funded through the district's bond measure approved in 2015.
Compton Unified School District expects to welcome its first class of students to the campus in August.
CUSD board members, Superintendent Darin Brawley, Mayor Emma Sharif and City Council members were among those on hand for the ceremony alongside some students, families and Compton residents.
What they're saying
Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, bankrolled construction of the 40,868-square-foot Andre "Dr. Dre" Young Performing Arts Center. Speaking at Thursday's ceremony, he joked about the large photo of himself displayed on the center.
"It was not my idea for my head to be as big as that on the side of this building," he told the crowd.
He said he wanted to "acknowledge how proud I am of seeing my city come through with this project."
"This was a commitment of time, resource and heart," he said. "It took a long time. It actually took me a long time to get this going."
The backstory
Dr. Dre attended Centennial High -- about 4 1/2 miles west of Compton High School -- before transferring to Fremont High in South Los Angeles. The Compton native later started the rap group N.W.A. with Arabian Prince, Eazy-E and Ice Cube, rocketing to fame.
He pledged to donate royalties from his 2015 album, "Compton," to support the performing arts center.
He and Jimmy Iovine, who together co-founded Beats Electronics, opened a magnet public school in South L.A. in 2022. They've also donated $70 million to USC for a new academy.
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