Malcolm X Arts & Academics Magnet
Cheryl Chinn, Principal
Sandra Maldonado, School Secretary
1731 Prince Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 644-6313
Lachelle Perriman-McDaniels, Coordinator
Berkeley LEARNS After School Program
Phone: (510) 883-6149
- Malcolm X PTA
- School Accountability Report Card
- School Accountability Report Card 2006-07
- API Results
- STAR Results
- Facilities
- Library
- Science Blog
- Malcolm X Garden and Nutrition Newsletter
School Information
From the graceful front plaza, whose three arms lead into the auditorium, library and front door, to the beautiful outdoor amphitheater, Malcolm X offers a dream-come-true environment for students and staff alike. Principal Chinn proudly leads a visitor through the auditorium, with its state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, light maple floor and new basketball hoops. The library, always a special place, glows with new appointments, carpet and shelves; while each of the building's three floors offers a lesson in the blending of colors to soothe, invite and inspire. The school's wide light-filled halls provide a perfect setting for the beautiful student art work.
Malcolm X students spend their days pursuing a rigorous academic course thoroughly enriched by the arts. Every student at every grade level receives instruction in each of the four major art forms - drama/creative writing, choral/instrumental music, dance/movement and visual arts - each and every week. Not only is art studied as a pure form in special classes, it also infuses every academic subject. The skills they learn in kindergarten become increasingly complex and sophisticated over the course of their six years at the school. Because of this, Malcolm X school was one of a handful of schools in the state that earned the Excellence in the Arts Award.
Malcolm X is unique among Berkeley elementary schools in that is has enough space to dedicate classrooms to specific tasks. There is an art room, two music rooms, a double room for dance and/or drama, a costume room, a science classroom, a computer lab with 28 iMacs and graphic station, and a beautiful auditorium with theatrical sound and lighting.
After school there are many choices. EDC/Fun Club each have their own rooms; these programs are available to qualified families at little cost. X+ is another after-school program with around 100 students. The PTA also sponsors fee-based classes for 1-2 hours after school each day with scholarships available.
High academic expectations linked with project-based learning stimulate and motivate students. "The skills and knowledge students learn in one classroom tie into what they are doing in all their other classes," explains Principal Cheryl Chinn. "This allows students to make connections among the subjects they study and making those connections is exciting. Students see a bigger picture - they see the whole wonderful world of the arts - and they see where what they are doing fits in. The same thing happens within the school itself. The little ones see where they're going from the work the older children do. The older children see where they've come from and they are amazed at how much they have accomplished.
Principal Chinn puts it succinctly. "You don't have to be a great artist to attend Malcolm X. If you enjoy the arts and you're willing to work hard, this is the school for you." Come visit and see for yourself.