Dr. Dre Partners With Public School System To Open New High School While Other Schools In Area Face Closure

Dr. Dre has partnered with a public school system in Los Angeles, where he and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine will open a new high school in an area where other schools face closure by June 2025.

The music mogul and Iovine announced the opening of the Iovine and Young Center Academy in Inglewood, with the school set to open in August 2025 as part of the Inglewood Unified School District, the Los Angeles Times reported. Five other school closures are a possibility in the district due to its financial troubles.

“We wanted to start in the inner city, because Dre and especially me, I owe a lot to the inner city of Los Angeles and we intend to pay it back,” Iovine told the Times.

“We believe that this will differentiate them in the workforce and colleges,” he added, per FOX 11. “To go out and say you have an education in disciplinary learning, being able to collaborate with different disciplines and innovate is an advantage.”

“[Dr. Dre and Iovine] will be investing in state of the art technology, professional development for staff, and any requisite campus improvements necessary to create the new academy,” district spokesperson Jessica Ochoa said.

“The center is designed to reshape the high school experience through an innovative education model that combines a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum with real-world, team-based learning opportunities. This IYC initiative is set to amplify Inglewood Unified School District’s focus on creating innovative and exciting pathways for high school students,” a statement from Inglewood Unified read.

Dr. Dre is launching a new High School Academy in Inglewood California

Via: @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/MYqWPSC2vS

— Hip Hop Immortal (@HipHopImm0rtal) August 12, 2024

The Young Academy will be located on the campus of Crozier Middle School, which is supposed to close in 2025. It is expected to open to ninth-grade students in Aug. 2025 and will eventually expand until it includes 12th graders for the 2028-2029 school year.

Families living in the Inglewood district have opted to send their kids out of the area to charter schools or other districts after Inglewood faced fiscal mismanagement and declining enrollment.

The announcement marks the second such public school venture for Dre and Iovine after the two opened a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Times noted.