MEDIA ADVISORY
Crown Point Junior Music Academy to Celebrate Dedication of New Classroom and Music Center in Honor of Late Violin Academy Founder
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
WHAT:
San Diego Unified School District leaders will join Crown Point Junior Music Academy (CPJMA) students, staff, and parents to celebrate the completion of the campus’s upgrades. The family of the late Stephen Luchs, the beloved violin academy founder, will also participate.
WHEN:
Thursday, April 16, 2026
8:00 - 8:45 a.m.*
*School drop-off occurs from 7:30-7:40 a.m. Expect heavy traffic if arriving during that time.
WHERE:
Crown Point Junior Music Academy
1625 Pacific Beach Dr.
San Diego, CA 92109
VISUALS:
8:00 - 8:05 a.m. - CPJMA Choir Performance
8:05 - 8:15 a.m. - Podium Speaking Portion
8:15 - 8:25 a.m. - Ribbon-Cutting, Photo Opps
8:25 - 8:45 a.m. - Media 1-1s, Violin Classroom Tour
Photos of the late Stephen Luchs and new facilities can be found here.
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Cody Petterson, Board of Education Trustee, San Diego Unified
Sakeenah Smith, Principal, CPJMA
Jackson Partain, 5th Grade Student, CPJMA
Amber Luchs, Daughter of Late Violin Academy Founder Stephen Luchs
Kelly Gemelli, President, CPJMA Parent Teacher Organization
BACKGROUND:
A TK-through-fifth-grade magnet school, Crown Point Junior Music Academy has served the Crown Point and Pacific Beach neighborhoods since 1948.
In 2008, teacher Stephen Luchs brought the Suzuki Violin program to what was then known as Crown Point Elementary, teaching both students and parents how to play violin together, perform together, and bring awareness to the importance of parent involvement. That same year, the school was renamed Crown Point Junior Music Academy. A veteran of the San Diego Symphony, Luchs taught violin to elementary school students and parents for 26 years. He passed away in April 2022.
One year after his death, construction began on the campus’s Whole Site Modernization project, which includes the construction of a new TK/kindergarten facility, a music center and makerspace, renovated classrooms, a safe and secure main campus entryway, and outdoor improvements.
Replacing an aging portable classroom, the new TK/kindergarten facility along Fortuna Avenue includes state-of-the-art classrooms with modern technology and furniture, and collaborative workspaces.
To create a secure main campus entryway, student services offices moved from Ingraham Street to Pacific Beach Drive. The vacated Ingraham Street building transformed into a music center and makerspace with new music and practice rooms. Further improving school security, new cameras, an emergency communications system, and perimeter fencing were installed.
Outdoor improvements include a learning area near the music and makerspace, a new play structure, hardscape striping, shade shelters, an expanded parking lot, and an on-site dedicated drop-off and pick-up off Jewell Street, which includes solar panel structures.
In addition to its Suzuki Violin program, Crown Point Junior Music Academy offers a free after-school music club and music enrichment instruction in homeroom classes. Open to fourth and fifth-grade students, the music club offers instruction from professional musicians and focuses on instrument-playing skills, playing and writing songs, and making audio and video recordings.
EVENT MAP:
Media can park on the street. Parking will be easier before and after school drop-off, which occurs from 7:30 - 7:40 a.m.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jamie Ries, Information Services Specialist, San Diego Unified, (619) 855-9283, jries@sandi.net.
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