O Team

The Otis Teens, Educators, Artists and Mentors Initiative prepares low-income Los Angeles youth for a productive life path through skill-based art and design education, and mentoring to facilitate their personal development and entry into higher education and the workplace.

The O T.E.A.M. program supports the aspirations of young people, instills core values, and reinforces self-esteem. Students develop a personal life plan that underscores the importance of education for their future accomplishments. Their creative experience as young artists, and their tangible achievements in internships and/or college-based workshops provide them with firsthand knowledge of setting and attaining high personal standards. This initiative is generously supported by a three-year grant from the James Irvine Foundation, and supported by The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation.

See the O TEAM WIKI

Project Description O T.E.A.M. is a three-year, academy-style, sequential year-round program for high school students (grades 10-12) and is free to all participants. There are three primary components – 1) sequential instruction in fine art and digital media that advances the students’ skills, challenges their abilities, and refines their talent; 2) supplemental instruction with clinics, one-on-one advisement, and weekend and summer workshops further develop skills and 3) professional mentoring provides multiple opportunities for students to experience works of art, gives support to their artistic development, and helps them gain a deeper understanding of what it means to work as a creative professional.

The current community partners are a LAUSD school-based model (High Tech High, Van Nuys), and a community-based model ( Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice). Each site houses an O T.E.A.M. digital lab; provides assistance in recruiting youth participants, on-site administration and youth support; facilitates Otis’ efforts in promoting the opportunity and recruiting of prospective applicants for the program; provides space for occasional non-instructional meetings such as parent meetings and faculty orientation; and provides assistance in assessment to measure and ensure the program’s effectiveness.