Performing+&+Creative+Arts+High+Schools



Performing and Creative Arts schools are located across the country, in nearly every major city. They vary from urban, public magnet schools to residential programs located in pristine, natural environments. I have chosen a small handful of the private or non-public charter schools to investigate. While day schools that target the artistic development of high school students are a great resource to many young artists, I believe that the immersion experienced by students attending residential programs provides a more concentrated, supportive environment for creative students as they strive to reach their potential. From a communitarianist point of view, schools such as these foster individual creative expression by simply allowing for the association of like-minded students, faculty, and staff. The communal bond serves not only as social support but as a source of competition, as well. Friendly competition, of course. From another theoretical point of view, it is possible to relate much of the organizational theories to institutions such as these. As independent microcosms of creative young adults and faculty mentors, they function similarly to businesses, small cities and other such organizations who support creative thinking and expression. Application of Florida's theory related to the differences in the proportion a of creative class in countries and cities is possible through the use of his three T's: technology, talent, and tolerance. (as cited in Runco, 2007) Each one of the profiled institutions possesses a great deal of each of these three characteristics. The //technological resources// are allocated to the study and creation of students' art. This is in direct opposition to "normal" public schools where arts and music programs fight for funding for even the smallest technological advantage. Resources of all types are typically allocated to every other area before the arts subjects. //Talent// is obtained through intense audition and application processes. Accepted students know that they are surrounded by other artists who are as good, if not better, than they. //Tolerance// is inherent in these special places. It is not only a theoretical ambition but a vital part of the success of these inspiring institutions. In many ways, the remoteness of these schools and the exclusivity they maintain help to reinvent the students' Zeitgest. In addition, the direct, concentrated study with professional artists as faculty members within the student's talent field provides a vital mentorship and much needed modeling for these young artists.

The audition and application process for these institutions is highly competitive and students attend from across the globe. Most of them offer comprehensive summer programs for students not able or willing to move away from home for the entire year. Though academic credit is not available for these summer programs, the camps provide a great alternative featuring world renown faculty members and a plethora of performance and showcase opportunities. I will be looking for information as to how these boarding schools approach their academic curriculum to meet the needs of accreditation as well as the unique needs of their student bodies. My primary goal in choosing this particular topic for my final project was simply to raise awareness of these unique and exciting educational opportunities and options for our most creative and talented students.

Interlochen Arts Academy: Interlochen, Michigan


What started as America's first arts camp in 1920 quickly expanded into the nation's first and foremost boarding fine arts high school. Located on 1,200 pristine acres about 30 minutes outside of Traverse City, Michigan, Interlochen Arts Academy (and Arts Camp during the summer) is a idyllic location for focused study. I had the opportunity of being on teaching staff at the camp over the summer of 2005 and was amazed at the resources and facilities available to Interlochen students. I would love to have the opportunity to spend some time up their during the academic year in order to experience the Academy.


 * Interlochen overview video**

"Interlochen Arts Academy offers a curriculum committed to excellence in the arts and academics. Under the guidance of an exceptional faculty of artists and educators, the Academy creates an environment in which students can achieve the highest possible artistic, intellectual and ethical standards as individuals and as responsible members of a diverse community. The Academy provides opportunities for character and leadership development through individual initiative within a framework of healthy competition and frequent presentations." (Interlochen, 2011, p.1)
 * Interlochen's statement of Philosophy:**

The Interlochen Arts Academy serves about 500 students every academic year. Typically, there are greater numbers of students that will spend their Junior and Senior (or even just Senior) year of high school at the Academy. According to the Interlochen website and to a phone interview with Chris Chesley, (Director of Education Programs and Student Academic Support) Interlochen is looking for two types of students: 1) "those with high levels of achievement and/or potential in their chosen art forms and with solid academic backgrounds" 2) "those with solid academic backgrounds who desire in depth study and exposure to a variety of arts areas, but who do not wish to major or focus exclusively in one arts area"

For the latter of the two, Interlochen offers a major in Comparative Arts. This line of study allows students to experience an "in-depth, self-directed study across arts and academics". Students take courses in Aesthetics, Comparative Arts seminars, and a plethora of arts courses including opportunities in the major areas of music, creative writing, dance, motion picture arts, theatre, and visual arts. In addition, these students complete the Academy's academic requirements and a self-directed annual project. Goals of the annual project include serving as a creative outlet for the student, cultivation of student's skills and interests through a synthesis of academics and multiple arts areas. According to Chesley, this major is fairly new for Interlochen (Chesley, personal correspondence) and there has been a good bit of excitement with regard to the inter-disciplinary qualities it offers.

For the former, Interlochen offers majors in creative writing, music, dance, motion picture arts, theatre arts, and visual arts. These majors are structured similarly to college programs in similar areas. Students complete the Academy's academic requirements and a rigorous spectrum of courses within their chosen major.

click on a picture to be taken to the major-specific web page.







//"Academics and the arts are partners at the Academy. Students and faculty understand that liberal arts, math and science are vital ingredients in the Interlochen experience."// (Interlochen, 2011)
 * Academics**

Academy students must complete a comprehensive college-preparatory academic curriculum that fully prepares them for advanced study in any professional endeavor. (Interlochen, 2011) Academic courses at Interlochen are not weighted or labeled as such but stated to be just as rigorous as any honors or advanced placement courses. Every year, students choose to attempt standardized AP tests for possible college credit. School days consist of nine 50-minute class periods with some rehearsals/masterclasses lasting for longer. Required courses include Mathematics (from Algebra I to Calculus and Statistics), Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Ecology, i.e.), World Language (French and Spanish-all communication in class is in the target language), History and Political Science (courses include Founding of America, Republic on Trial, Reconstruction and Rise of Modern America, America in Transition, American Diplomacy, Political Philosophy, American Political Processes, History of the Middle East, Modern Latin America, and International Relations and World History), English (American, Russian, British and Psychological literature; Short Story; Southern Literature; Modern European Literature; Literary Fairy Tale; Shakespeare; Contemporary American Literature; Women in Literature; Biography and Memoir; and Classical Mythology). The Academy also offers an English as a Second Language program for students needing additional assistance in this area. As mentioned in the video below, the inclusion of biographies and memoirs in the English curriculum allows students to experience what Runco (2007) calls "remote models". These are individuals, eminent or not, whose lives provide a model or at least a source of remote identity for these unique students. I believe that, by attending a prestigious school with such an acclaimed list of alumni, would also provide a sense of remote modeling for students. However, this could also have negative effects, that of fear of failure if one's career does not live up to those of the past classes.

Interlochen emphasizes the need for and attempt to teach critical thinking skills, experimental and exploratory problem-solving, reason, use of technology in the classroom (to foster "21st Century skills"), the application of rational thinking, an awareness of the human condition and experience. Many of the courses are academically accelerated and either meet or exceed advanced placement courses. There are opportunities for travel including an annual (elective) ecology trip to Latin America to study the canopy of the Peruvian and Belizean rainforests and, because of their location, there are many opportunities for scientific study of the aquatic life, islands and shores of Lake Michigan.

More than any other high school in the nation, Interlochen has had 42 graduates named as Presidential Scholars in Arts/Academics since 1980. Graduates from Interlochen do not always enter college as music, art, or dance majors, i.e. From the class of 2011, their graduates entered fields of study in almost all conceivable areas. While the vast majority were admitted to college in one of the aforementioned majors, there were students admitted as Aeronautical Science, Animal Science & Pre-Med., Cultural Anthropology, International Affairs, International and European Law, International Relations and East Asian Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics, Political Science, and Psychology, for example. This proves that a high school curriculum heavily devoted to arts education does not, in any way, prohibit students from other academic pursuits. Colleges and Universities attended by this class include USC, Embry-Riddle, the American University of Paris, Bard College, Michigan, Boston University, Northwestern, Columbia, Pepperdine, Carnegie Mellon, the Curtis Institute, Berklee, the Julliard School, Yale, Bryn Mawr and many others. Video: Academics at Interlochen


 * __Notable Alumni of the Arts Academy and Camp__**


 * Michael M. Kaiser**, President, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts[[image:http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/interlochen.jpg width="330" height="214" align="right"]]
 * Jerry Burns**, Former Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings
 * Lawrence Clarkson**, Former President, Boeing Enterprises
 * Robert Hollway**, Former Coach, St. Louis Cardinals Football, Former Assistant Coach, Minnesota Vikings
 * Frank Kelly, Jr.**, Former Vice President, American Express, Inc.
 * Lawrence Page**, Co-Founder & President, Products, Google Corporation
 * Amanda Schull**, Member, San Francisco Ballet; as actress -- Jody in film "Center Stage"
 * Dean Anderson**, Former Deputy Director, Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars; Former Under Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
 * Thomas S. Clark**, Dean, School of Music, North Carolina School of the Arts
 * George Crumb**, Composer
 * Frederick Fennell** (deceased), Conductor, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Founder, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Principal Guest Conductor, Dallas Wind Symphony
 * Josh Groban**, Pop and Classical Singer Foster/Warner Bros. Recording Artist
 * Rufus Wainwright**, Singer/Songwriter, Juno Award Winner
 * Norah Jones**, Jazz Singer & Pianist Blue Note Records Artist
 * Jewel Kilcher**, Recording Artist, Grammy Award Winner
 * Byron Stripling**, Trumpet, "Count Basie Orchestra", featured soloist with the Boston Pops
 * Peter Yarrow**, Member, "Peter, Paul and Mary"
 * David Blum**, Journalist Wall Street Journal; Esquire magazine; New York magazine; The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair
 * David Shenk**, Author, contributor to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Gourmet, Harper's, The American Scholar, NPR and PBS, The New Republic and The Nation
 * Doug Stanton**, Novelist, "In Harms Way"
 * Felicity Huffman**, Actress, Emmy Award Winner, "Desperate Housewives" on ABC, "Transamerica"
 * Sara Gilbert**, "Roseanne" "High Fidelity," "Riding in Cars with Boys," "ER"
 * Dermot Mulroney**, Male lead role, "My Best Friend's Wedding," "The Family Stone" and "Samantha"
 * Faye Wrubel**, Paintings Conservator, Chicago Art Institute

and many, many more..



Walnut Hill School for the Arts: Natick, Massachusetts
//Non Nobis Solum – Not for Ourselves Alone//

Located just outside of Boston, this institution was founded in 1893 as an all-girls boarding school. From its inception, Walnut Hill has had a strong arts program. For 80 years, Walnut Hill was at the forefront of education for women and in the 1970s, became a coeducational school for the arts. [history] Due to its close proximity to the city of Boston, students at Walnut Hill have the opportunity to perform or showcase their art outside of the campus boundaries.

"The mission of Walnut Hill is to educate talented, accomplished, and intellectually engaged young artists from all over the world. The School does so in a diverse, humane, and ethical community."
 * Walnut Hill's Mission Statement**

Offers training in music, ballet, theater, visual art, and writing and publishing.

Of the Creative Writing curriculum, the Walnut Hill website states "In these courses our writers earn the wisdom of the Latin proverb, “If there is no wind, row.” A writer’s discoveries are made in the course of writing, and inspiration, per se, is frequently found midcourse". This journey ends in a capstone project called the Senior Tutorial. This is an independent project completed with guidance from faculty with the goal of the student finding his/her own artistic vision or voice. I must admit, I was pleased upon seeing the statement about inspiration and, especially, a note of understanding that it may take a while for students to get warmed up. For some, in order to have a chance at acknowledging inspiration when it happens, they must chip away at internal barriers that inhibit truly creative behavior or expression. This process could take some time.

The Music division is a one-of-a-kind partnership between the school and the New England Conservatory. Students take private lessons with faculty drawn from the ranks of the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Benjamin Bloom's //Generalizations About Talent Development//, the exposure to this level of instruction would fall some where in between the second and master teacher with some faculty members and some teacher-student relationships falling in one of the two levels.

Ballet students dance take two or three ballet classes a day including a two hour ballet technique class, six days of the week. Toward the end of their Junior year at Walnut Hill, they are encouraged to begin considering their options after graduation. This includes a conversation with the college counselor, their ballet teacher and the student's parents with regard to the student's goals. Ballet students have many options including auditioning for professional dance companies, colleges or universities or conservatories. The information available on the Ballet section of the Walnut Hill website regarding college majors, options for advanced study, and the possibility of dancing recreationally while in college and pursuing another major is refreshing to see.

//"A good artist is a thinking artist: one who observes carefully, thinks flexibly and creatively, and demonstrates persistence in the face of complexity and ambiguity"//
 * Academics at Walnut Hill**

Current academic faculty hail from institutions such as Brown, Cornell, Harvard, NYU, Wellesley, and Williams college. Walnut Hill places an emphasis on hands-on, project-based learning citing goals such as > (Academics at Walnut Hill)
 * Rich, intellectual exploration
 * Personalized learning
 * Deep and enduring understanding of content
 * Small classes are lively and engaging

Similar to Interlochen, students will choose one arts area to major in while completing the college-preparatory academic curriculum. Because of the time constraints of individual practice, rehearsal and studio time, students generally take two academic courses per term. Students must complete four credits of English courses, two or more credits in History, two years of a lab science (Biology, Biology II, Chemistry or Accel. Chemistry, Chemistry II, or Physics), three credits of secondary-level mathematics (Algebra I through Accelerated Calculus as well as Statistics), courses in French or Spanish. Walnut Hill implements a structured study hour Sunday through Thursday from 9pm to 10pm during which students must be in their rooms, headphones must be used if listening to music and no TV allowed. They also offer proctored/monitored "Hush Rooms" from 8am to 2pm everyday. This is optional for students unless required by a faculty member for a particular individual. There is also a Learning Resource Specialist who coordinates tutors (for hire) for students needing extra help in a particular area.



==



University of North Carolina School of the Arts - High School Program
//“It is not enough to be trained as an artist, but as a person. As an artist you will express yourself as a person, and the richer you are as a person the better your expression will be. So, in this framework, you will have academic study.”// Vittorio Giannini, UNCSA’s Founding President (University of North Carolina, 2011, p.27)

Unique in that this high schools functions as a part of the University of North Carolina - an early college high school. "From its beginning, the School has had a strong commitment to providing a sound, supporting curriculum of academic studies to ensure the broader education of the artist". (University of North Carolina, 2011, p. 27) Preparation of students for success as professional artists within their field is a major UNCSA goal. In addition to the prescribed high school academic curriculum, UNCSA offers majors for high school students in dance (with concentration in either Ballet or Contemporary Dance), drama, music, and visual arts. While not entirely a residential high school programs, students are required to live in residence halls on the campus of the University of North Carolina unless they are local students who can live with parents or guardians. Students may begin the Dance and Music programs as early as 9th grade, 11th grade for Visual Arts, and 12th grade only for the Drama program.

With regard to institutional climate, the Performing Arts High School bulletin (2011) claims a dedication to "a spirit of free inquiry and mutual respect in the classroom and promote a community that provides equal access and support for all students" (p. 27) This approach should help in the development of creativity in their students by providing a safe, supportive environment in which freedom is felt by those wishing to express their creative thoughts. This particular program is unique also in that being housed within the large UNC campus, high school students are free to utilize the vast technological resources available to other UNC students. According to the UNCSA High School bulletin, UNCSA students must complete a minimum of 4 courses in English, 3 in Mathematics, 3 in Science (including 1 Physical Science, 1 Biological, and 1 other), 3 in Social Studies (1 US History, 1 Civics/Economics, and 1 World History), 1 Wellness or Health/Physical Education course, and 6 Electives (including Arts). (p. 31)

Not all students graduating from programs such as these schools offer end up studying or majoring in their particular artistic field. As you can see in the abbreviated alumni list for Interlochen and UNCSA's website (linked in the next sentence), the lessons learned through an intense artistic education extend far beyond the studio or performance hall. An important lesson for high school students to learn and UNCSA addresses this issue here.

[|UNC Performing Arts HS - Academic Program]



Idyllwild Arts Academy
Located in the San Jacinto Mountains, Idyllwild offers 205 forested acres for students to explore, draw inspiration and reprieve. Similarly to Interlochen, Idyllwild offers both an Arts Academy boarding school and a summer camp program. The Academy as it is now, opened in 1986 as the first independent boarding high school for the arts in the western United States.

Idyllwild Arts Academy

The approximately 275 students enrolled in the Academy attend academic classes 6 mornings a week followed by their rehearsals, practices, arts classes or studio time in the afternoons and evenings. The Academy offers a fully accredited college preparatory curriculum with majors in creative writing, dance, film and video, interdisciplinary arts, music, theater, and visual art. Their goal is to prepare students for acceptance and further study at conservatories, professional companies, and liberal arts colleges or universities.
 * About**

**Mission**
The mission of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation is to promote and advance artistic and cultural development through education in a beautiful, natural environment conducive to positive personal growth. The Idyllwild Arts Academy provides pre-professional training in the arts and a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum to a diverse student body of gifted young artists from all over the world.

The Idyllwild Arts Academy is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian institution. Students entering the Academy undertake a combined curriculum of pre-professional arts training and college preparatory academic studies. The Academy provides students in grades nine through twelve with the skills and attitudes that will improve their opportunities for success in the highly competitive world of the arts and in post-secondary education. Thus, the school provides a curriculum that is both traditional and unique and gives the student the opportunity to pursue several different options after high school. (Idyllwild, 2011)
 * Statement of Philosophy**

Meeting the California Admission Standard, Idyllwild requires 4 years of English, 3 of History or Social Studies, 2 of foreign language, 3 of Mathematics, 2 years of science, 2 years of physical education, and 1 year of visual and performing arts in addition to the requirements of the student's major. Curriculum Guide
 * Academics at Idyllwild**


 * Major Reference**

Music media type="youtube" key="Xz2lT9vCCcQ" height="219" width="392" align="left" The music department at Idyllwild draws on their location in southern California to secure master teachers for their students as well as provide opportunities for concert attendance by academy students. As mentioned previously, this affiliation with professional musicians, especially at a relatively young age, provides needed role models both in-person as well as remote for these young musicians.

Through intense study, Idyllwild prepares its music students for acceptance into the finest conservatories and colleges of music around the world.

Interdisciplinary Arts at Idyllwild has been created to provide students with experience in a variety of arts areas. Students will complete all academic requirements as well as extensive training in at least two artistic areas. These majors will also complete at least one semester of a course entitled "Interdisciplinary Mind" as well as courses in Aesthetics and Critical Thought.

Dance media type="youtube" key="-SR-aNlykfQ" height="251" width="336" align="left"

At Idyllwild, all dance majors study all areas of dance. From ballet to contemporary, the faculty strive to incorporate laws of physics into the study of dance and also require that dance majors take courses in Anatomy and Kinesiology.

**Arts Enterprise Laboratory** To supplement the already busy, triune education (academics, arts, student life) at institutions like Idyllwild, this institution also offers the Arts Enterprise Laboratory. This program has three goals or purposes:
 * 1) Student grants for emerging young artists - provides funding for students to create new work during their Senior year under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
 * 2) Masterclasses - providing interaction and instruction with professionals from students' chosen artistic area
 * 3) Career Education - this consists of the introduction to the many career opportunities for artists, assistance in finding ways to achieve professional goals, and introduction to and assistance in securing summer internships and other work opportunities during vacation time while at Idyllwild

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Really great college counseling resources available to Idyllwild students, yay! Click here
 * Side Note:**