Students from some of California’s poorest families are receiving one of the state’s most advanced high schools as the rebuilt $225-million Compton High prepares to open this fall.

The 31-acre campus features innovative design elements including an all digital library with no physical books, classrooms with glass walls and sliding doors, and mostly invisible high-tech security systems. Each weight room station includes an iPad for personalized workout plans, while athletic facilities encompass two baseball fields, a football stadium, soccer field, multiple courts, a technologically advanced swimming pool with automatic timing sensors, and a large gymnasium.

Dr. Dre’s $10 Million Gift

Compton native Andre “Dr. Dre” Young donated $10 million to the performing arts center, commemorated with a massive mural of his face on the building. “This is the type of building that I would have loved to go to when I was a kid growing up,” Dr. Dre said at Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new campus replaces a deteriorating 1930s-era school where band director Anthony Ransfer recalls moving equipment whenever it rained due to leaks. Students have spent six years in temporary quarters at a worn surplus middle school campus.

Academic Progress Amid Challenges

The school serves a student body where 93% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The demographic breakdown is 84% Latino, 15% Black, and 1% Pacific Islander.

“The environment we’ve created here at Compton High School will launch scholars’ potential,” said school board member Ayanna Davis. “This is more than a campus. It’s a launchpad.”

According to Superintendent Darin Brawley, independent researchers have praised the district’s significant academic improvement that outpaces growth statewide and nationally.

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