Santa Monica’s New Roads School celebrated a significant milestone in the creation of The Herb Alpert Educational Village on Friday morning.
Members of the New Roads School community, together with the New Visions Foundation, benefactor Herb Alpert, supporters, and education and community leaders gathered to celebrate completion of steel framing for the centerpiece Performing Arts and Leadership Center.
Located at 3131 Olympic Boulevard (the current site of New Roads High School and Middle School)and named for its founding benefactor, The Herb Alpert Educational Village represents a vision for education in the 21st century – a model of collaboration and shared resources dedicated to incubating and implementing educational reform for an evolving world.
The Performing Arts and Leadership Center will house the Capshaw-Spielberg Center for Educational Justice, the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater, classrooms, and office and meeting space for non-profit organizations committed to educational advancement in a collaborative, sustainable community environment.
The Herb Alpert Educational Village, anchored by New Roads School and the New Visions Foundation will bring together in one location, diverse elements of the education community – researchers, civic organizations, students and faculty – to foster creative collaborations that confront the challenges of improving student success in the Los Angeles community and beyond.
As a translational education center, The Herb Alpert Educational Village will enable educational partners to share in basic research about student learning, and to test and implement best practices for faculty development and enhanced student performance.
The Performing Arts and Leadership Center, Phase 1 of construction, is central to the vision of The Herb Alpert Educational Village.
In addition to its 350-seat theater (acoustics engineered by Yasuhisa Toyota, acoustician for Disney Hall) the “green” facility provides classroom space for New Roads School plus office and meeting space for the New Visions Foundation and other non-profit organizations dedicated to working creatively and collaboratively towards common goals in educational advancement.
Designed by John Berry Architects, and under the executive supervision of House & Robertson Architects, the integrated campus supports the City of Santa Monica’s vision for new land use and circulation and will comprise multiple green buildings using locally produced materials and relying exclusively on natural light and air flow.
The Herb Alpert Educational Village is a manifestation of its benefactor’s dedication to philanthropy, to young people, and, as Herb Alpert says, to “supporting programs that are creatively conceived and run. Lani (his wife] and I seek to support areas that bring young people the tools and wisdom to develop their potential and lead positive fulfilling lives without prejudice.”
David Bryan, President and Head of School at New Roads School says, “Through the years our school has remained true to our founding mission of providing quality college preparatory education to a diverse student body, and cultivating learners who are engaged and committed to the health of their communities and their world. The realization of The Herb Alpert Educational Village will enhance our ability to pursue our mission in new ways, benefiting from the expertise of other participants and applying these lessons directly to the classroom.”
Paul Cummins, Executive Director and founder of the New Visions Foundation says, “The Herb Alpert Educational Village will create a new form of collaborative learning. These resources will afford us the great privilege, as educators, to share our findings and experiences for the benefit of all of our children.”
