This was an amazing article to read because the school brings out the best in its students and focuses on their passions. Many students today are focused on taking as many classes as possible and recieving the best grades so that it looks better for their resume, rather than on what they are interested in. The program seems very exciting and beneficial to all of its students, which is great.
After reading this article, I was very moved. Since I enjoy acting and taking part in drama club, I could relate to a lot of the students viewpoints on here. As explained in the last paragraph, criticism is not a negative thing for me in theatre, but it only helps me out. As Ms. Nathan said, "You learn how to do something hard: You take criticism", I was moved when I read this quote because I related to that. When I first started High School Musical in the fall of 2016 with HF2 I did not know how to dance well. I would constantly have people correct my dance moves, and at first, I took it as negative criticism, but after a little while, I viewed it as my theatre friends helping me out. As said in the article I know I can count on my theatre family, and rely on them for anything. Personally I think theatre has changed me, and I am happy I joined in my freshman year.
1
Stories like this give hope to the battle to keep the arts in public education. I personally have always wondered, if we should have to be proficient in academia as well as pass physical education, why are we not required to be artistically proficient? I believe artistic talent is undervalued in the current system, but this school is proof that it can get you places, even if you don't fit the standard student mold.
Amazing article keep doing well in future. Breaking News, all the best
I appreciated this story, because I greatly value arts education and how valuable it is for all kinds of students -- including my two sons, recent graduates of LaGuardia High School of Music & Art & Performing arts in NYC. I do wish the story would have mentioned, as previous NY Times articles have, the dismaying changes wrought by a relatively new principal at LaGuardia, who is excluding talented students because of a new emphasis on higher grades coming in -- and academics overall. These changes threaten to undermine a true NYC gem and are wreaking havoc on the overall atmosphere of this storied institution. I'd love to see more attention focused on this; I wrote about it recently for insideschools.org:
https://insideschools.org/news-&-views/high-school-hustle-let-laguar...
https://insideschools.org/news-&-views/high-school-hustle-let-laguar...
2
Outstanding. The information technology economy requires many more minority singers, dancers and visual artists. Let those boring white kids do the coding and computer programming, there's no future in that.
1
Thank you. And of course, it's impossible to learn teamwork from the chess club, the debate team, the literary magazine, the newspaper, student government....
2
The information technology economy needs more people who can adapt to change as it happens, who can work with different people to come up with new ideas. There are plenty of IT grads around who can keep doing the same old work repeatedly while the world around them is doing something new. At least many of those IT grads will stay employed maintaining legacy systems.
I read the article with the song ''Fame'' going around me mind. ( lol )
I would only add that it is in all of our interests to expand on such success. It is also nice to just read a positive article too.
Good luck to all of the kids. Don't give up.
I would only add that it is in all of our interests to expand on such success. It is also nice to just read a positive article too.
Good luck to all of the kids. Don't give up.
5
First of all, I applaud the efforts of the students and the teachers here.
But I have some concerns. First, most kids just aren't that talented at anything. Kids from upper middle class homes can compensate for that with the support and connections from their family and neighborhood. But what about the disadvantaged kids without talent? Magnet skills skim off those who already have the greatest chance to succeed -- and absolutely deserve the oppurtunity -- and leave the rest behind without the people the community most need.
What about just dividing up schools so each one has a heterogenous mix? My high school did that -- which is how I'm in med school now. I'd never have gotten into a magnet school, but once in a school with peers who knew how to study and how to get into college I blossomed. All honors/AP which earned me the scholarships that let me attend college. The New York Times published a map that showed the places with the most upward mobility for kids raised there -- and my home town was near the top.
What's wrong with giving every kid a chance to succeed?
But I have some concerns. First, most kids just aren't that talented at anything. Kids from upper middle class homes can compensate for that with the support and connections from their family and neighborhood. But what about the disadvantaged kids without talent? Magnet skills skim off those who already have the greatest chance to succeed -- and absolutely deserve the oppurtunity -- and leave the rest behind without the people the community most need.
What about just dividing up schools so each one has a heterogenous mix? My high school did that -- which is how I'm in med school now. I'd never have gotten into a magnet school, but once in a school with peers who knew how to study and how to get into college I blossomed. All honors/AP which earned me the scholarships that let me attend college. The New York Times published a map that showed the places with the most upward mobility for kids raised there -- and my home town was near the top.
What's wrong with giving every kid a chance to succeed?
4
An arts magnet school changed my daughter's life coming from a suburb into a magnet school in Hartford. Sadly today it is not talent based but for her it was a path to NYU Tisch and ultimately a Grammy nod. Arts schools work.
6
This story is overly Pollyannaish for my taste. Skin tone and zip code are decidedly NOT beside the point in the real world of casting. Artists of color continue to have far fewer opportunities than white artists. And regardless of race or ethnicity, how many individuals actually have successful careers in the arts? The number is minuscule.
4
Granted opportunities are fewer than it would take to make an easy transition into the world of working in the arts. However, point not to be missed: this type of dedicated training, motivation and discipline builds up the students and gives them a set of skills to handle life, higher education and higher expectations. Those schools also deliver academically. There is no downside.
I am fortunate to have a daughter attending a performing arts school and it is tougher than a regular high school, longer days, readings of plays and varied literature well beyond the standard curriculum, poise and diction, showing up on time, competing for spots on the school productions and for those who can afford it, outside lessons to supplement dance or vocal or theater training.
It is the opportunity of a lifetime for the talented candidates who get admitted.
All this makes it a lot harder to explain why education departments nationally and in NY City are cutting funding for arts in public schools.
I am fortunate to have a daughter attending a performing arts school and it is tougher than a regular high school, longer days, readings of plays and varied literature well beyond the standard curriculum, poise and diction, showing up on time, competing for spots on the school productions and for those who can afford it, outside lessons to supplement dance or vocal or theater training.
It is the opportunity of a lifetime for the talented candidates who get admitted.
All this makes it a lot harder to explain why education departments nationally and in NY City are cutting funding for arts in public schools.
9
How sad, indeed tragic, that instead of expanding public magnet schools with their great track record of integration and success (documented here) that the Obama education secretaries Andy Duncan and John King chose instead to pursue charter schools and privatization, which increased segregation and inequality. How ironic that Michelle Obama graduated from a Chicago magnet high school to attend Princeton University. And the New York Times editorial board supported that charter school segregation and privatization strategy! Together they paved the way for what we have now and they will never face that. Shame. Shame.
5
Yes, Art, Music and Literature are absolutely important to the education of any young person. Why then, do we have to create special magnet programs with audition requirements? Shouldn't Art, Music and Literature be available to every student in every school?
23
Any success with science oriented schools? Or maybe trade schools? You know, schools where kids actually learn something useful. How many singers, dancers,, painters can a society sustain?
2
Art and music used to be part of the curriculum of every public school. The teaching wasn't great, I learned to play the flutophone, a black plastic toy, in a group of 30 children, and was shocked one day to see another pupil arrive with a wooden recorder (which some people don't even consider a "real" instrument.) Any parent with serious ambitions for her or his child paid for private music lessons if they could. Still, there was a taste of the arts.
But the high school level is different. Students are preparing for the start of professional training. Only the best of the best will have any chance of success and auditions are part of that life. Many actors and dancers have been attending auditions since they were little kids.
But the high school level is different. Students are preparing for the start of professional training. Only the best of the best will have any chance of success and auditions are part of that life. Many actors and dancers have been attending auditions since they were little kids.
1
The arts teach a variety of academic skills that transfer to other professional areas. Arts students tend to be fluid thinkers and they tend to collaborate and communicate well. The list goes on. Not all of them will major in the arts in college, but their emphasis on the arts will help them anyway.
1
Background is not "beside the point."
I think your purpose is to suggest that young people facing many personal challenges find solace in art and music, right? I don't think that doing so means that the young people's background becomes irrelevant or "beside the point", as you say. Their backgrounds are still very much with them, often compelling and inspiring them to achieve. Journalists often conclude that facing hardship should be disconnected from an experience such as this. Probably, a truer statement is - these young people's experience of trial and tribulation is core to their talent as artists, as their ability to understand the extent of humanity goes beyond in some ways what more privileged youth can develop. I appreciate the article, but am skeptical of disconnecting personal background from, well, anything.
I think your purpose is to suggest that young people facing many personal challenges find solace in art and music, right? I don't think that doing so means that the young people's background becomes irrelevant or "beside the point", as you say. Their backgrounds are still very much with them, often compelling and inspiring them to achieve. Journalists often conclude that facing hardship should be disconnected from an experience such as this. Probably, a truer statement is - these young people's experience of trial and tribulation is core to their talent as artists, as their ability to understand the extent of humanity goes beyond in some ways what more privileged youth can develop. I appreciate the article, but am skeptical of disconnecting personal background from, well, anything.
5
I wish NYT publishes more such real-America, feel-good, inspirational articles.
Instead of fictional Russia collusion stories.
In fact, I would like to see a story like this, for every anti-Trump propaganda article on its front page.
Instead of fictional Russia collusion stories.
In fact, I would like to see a story like this, for every anti-Trump propaganda article on its front page.
1
So try to influence your political allies to support arts education in the public schools, which is the focus of this story that you like. Please.
20
Amen, Martha! I can guarantee you that anyone who supports Trump supports "whites only" educational privilege. You can't have your cake and eat it too, Bhaskar.
5
and so far you have proof that there was not collusion
You seem the one living the pathetic fiction that you created with your GOP vote on November 6th
You seem the one living the pathetic fiction that you created with your GOP vote on November 6th
4
Such grace and talent is a welcome contrast to our pathetic national stage. Go kids!
13
If this nation was willing to invest as much in developing it most valuable resource, children, as it does in Things and Militarism, then perhaps it could be great, but until it then...
12
The Arts, we've got to keep the arts in the schools. I was a poor kid. When I went to public schools they dropped the band (and art) for a number of years, some kind of plan to raise the academic level of the school. It happens in periodically. Band was the only thing I was interested in. When they restarted the band I was unqualified because of grade level and no beginning band experience. I graduated from University with a BA in music. I still practice and perform regularly. No, not enough to make a living, but, I have done very well in business, career and civic responsibility. I've been a tradesman, cook, business owner, technical staff, mid management and professional. I actively donate to the arts. It's the Arts, man, that is the basis.
18
Oftentimes, people watch actors and/or musicians from the UK and comment how talented, educated, and well-trained they are. This is because there is stronger government support of the art schools and training programs abroad than in the US. For example, one of the biggest recording artists in the world today, Adele, attended a public arts high school. The UK also has a system of acting programs like the LAMBDA and RADA, producing people like James McEvoy, Chiwetel Eijiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc.
I am convinced my arts background played a role in my admission to medical school decades ago. While not particularly talented artistically, I was able to converse with interviewers about music and stagecraft (I played in a string quartet and helped design sets for a college theater group) and this persuaded them I was more than a mathlete/ lab jockey.
I am convinced my arts background played a role in my admission to medical school decades ago. While not particularly talented artistically, I was able to converse with interviewers about music and stagecraft (I played in a string quartet and helped design sets for a college theater group) and this persuaded them I was more than a mathlete/ lab jockey.
14
This is great but when it happens in engineering, science, math, and many other important arenas that will be even better. Entertainment is optional, nice but not essential.
3
Actually, any of these "essential" fields related to STEM will soon be automated ... and I don't think that is going to happen in the performing arts. The arts are what bring meaning and value to our lives. What you deem is "entertainment" is an essential and vital part of many cultures. It's what makes us human.
8
discipline, creativity, risk, literacy, collaboration, - the ARTS make children smarter, braver, better able to think, compute, communicate - No breakthrough in any of the STEM areas occurs without those qualities. Einstein played a violin.
Michelangelo was imagining engineering, flight, construction advances. The fierce focus of all artists can be applied to any field.
Michelangelo was imagining engineering, flight, construction advances. The fierce focus of all artists can be applied to any field.
12
did you miss the part where these students grades in those stem fields improved to the point of making them attractive candidates for universities where some of them ended up studying those very fields??
3
This is wonderful.
Here in the bay area we have the great gift of having Destiny Arts.
A talented group of kids led by Sarah Crowell and Rashidi Omari.
They have a documentary FREE (http://freethedocumentary.com/).
Here in the bay area we have the great gift of having Destiny Arts.
A talented group of kids led by Sarah Crowell and Rashidi Omari.
They have a documentary FREE (http://freethedocumentary.com/).
5
My daughters both graduated from the FACE School in Montreal, a bilingual inner city pubic arts school along the lines of Fame. The school, like the ones in this article, is the mix of incomes, races and cultures. My kids’ cousins in the U.S. all attend private or public schools in wealthy suburbs and have no idea what it means not to have money for a soda or new jeans or a ski outing.
The big difference between FACE and the schools in this article is that FACE does not require stressful auditions, where parents must invest heavily in lessons before the child can even hope to be accepted (instruments are provided). Children are accepted through lottery at pre-K and continue through high school graduation.
Empathy is a big feature. The 3rd graders help the 1st graders get to their classes. The high schoolers are tutors and lunch monitors. Everyone is accepted as normal—bullying is practically non-existent.
Anyone can learn an instrument, to act, to dance, to create art. The students at FACE adore the school and reap huge benefits from the experience. The graduation rate is almost 100% with over 90% heading to college.
Some graduates major in the arts in college, but the school has a highly rated general curriculum, and many go on to be scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, etc. The love of the arts provides these kids with the creativity to tackle any problem. Lucky for them, they will have that appreciation for the arts their entire lives.
The big difference between FACE and the schools in this article is that FACE does not require stressful auditions, where parents must invest heavily in lessons before the child can even hope to be accepted (instruments are provided). Children are accepted through lottery at pre-K and continue through high school graduation.
Empathy is a big feature. The 3rd graders help the 1st graders get to their classes. The high schoolers are tutors and lunch monitors. Everyone is accepted as normal—bullying is practically non-existent.
Anyone can learn an instrument, to act, to dance, to create art. The students at FACE adore the school and reap huge benefits from the experience. The graduation rate is almost 100% with over 90% heading to college.
Some graduates major in the arts in college, but the school has a highly rated general curriculum, and many go on to be scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, etc. The love of the arts provides these kids with the creativity to tackle any problem. Lucky for them, they will have that appreciation for the arts their entire lives.
11
Lottery? Why not.. College admissions have been brought down pretty much to that lowest denominator anyway.. Lottery cannot be worse.
Sounds like a nice school, but it's absolutely nothing like the former High School of Performing Arts, which was the inspiration for the movie Fame. It had rigorous auditions. Not everyone is good enough to be a professional performer. Auditions and rejections are part of that career. You don't get a prize for participation.
1
I should clarify: I meant the school's atmosphere is the same as Fame--the spontaneous jam sessions, singing, theatrical expressions in the hallways--not the push toward actual fame. However, many grads have gone on to achieve great things in the arts, including touring virtuosos, film directors, actors, orchestra conductors, etc.
Since the kids are accepted at age 4/5, auditions would be a bit ridiculous. But anyone who enters after grade 3 must audition to be accepted. However, the school is great b/c it teaches to all levels of competency, not just the must talented. It's more about collaboration then about stardom. Maybe that's a Canadian thing though.
Since the kids are accepted at age 4/5, auditions would be a bit ridiculous. But anyone who enters after grade 3 must audition to be accepted. However, the school is great b/c it teaches to all levels of competency, not just the must talented. It's more about collaboration then about stardom. Maybe that's a Canadian thing though.
Audra McDonald - Roosevelt Performing Arts Magnet, Fresno, CA - 1988 ! And many, many more !
6
I love Audra McDonald, but only yesterday I read an article about how while at Juilliard she tried to kill herself because she felt so different and like a failure. Fortunately, she was hospitalized, recovered, and eventually found her way. But that's another example of skin tone definitely not being beside the point.
1
So glad to read this and be reminded that at the end of the day, genetics still call at least some of the tune. A musician and writer myself, I grow increasingly weary of the endless bleating about STEM education uber alles. As if babies with talents in other areas won't go on being born every day, and should not be relegated to a choice between a career they may hate but which makes them money, and simply starving. When the society begins to collectively agree that the most important thing for it to do with new humans is to see them as potential worker drones and capitalists, kids like these in this story will be relegated to the bin. Long may you run, you musicians and dancers and sculptors. You matter every bit as much as the inventor of the next gadget or app! A decent society would recognize that and help you make YOUR way, too.
13
this is a great story of success to develop talents of everyone-including the low income students. It may be possible in America.
6
Unfortunately LaGuardia HS in NYC no longer falls into this category. Admission is based primarily on academic achievement, which in practice means a bias toward kids from affluent homes and exclusive middle schools. It's still more diverse than most other elite public high schools in NYC, but rapidly moving away from that meritocratic model.
3
There are plenty of students who have great talent and who also are willing to do a modicum of academic work (the "academic achievement" the writer refers to is a NYC test given to all students in NYC public schools). LaG student applicants do NOT have achieve the highest scores. If you look at LaG statistics, you will see that the students are very diverse. I'm not sure what "exclusive middle schools" means. The vast majority of LaG students come from public junior high schools.
4
NYC's public middle schools (we don't have junior high) are deeply segregated by race and class, and parents go to great lengths to get their kids into the "good" middle schools because they serve as feeders to the elite high schools. LaGuardia's student body, while somewhat diverse, is far whiter and more affluent than the NYC public schools as a whole. To suggest that those disproportionately excluded are not "willing to do a modicum of academic work" is incredibly offensive.
5
I have taught both at LaGuardia and in NYC public elementary schools and know full well what it takes to get a decent grade on those tests. Anybody familiar with those schools knows that these are not difficult tests and cannot imagine why it is offensive to say so. TO REPEAT, one does not have to get the highest scores to be admitted to LaGuardia. As LaGuardia is FAR more diverse than the other NYC specialized high schools, the ones that admit only by test score and not by both audition and test scores. As for LaGuardia admissions, first the students must pass the audition BEFORE anyone looks as the test scores and other variables. If there are x number of qualified-by-audition students, are you suggesting that LaGuardia then looks first at students from this group with the lesser academic qualifications? Dozens and dozens apply for one spot. As for my use of "junior high" rather than "middle schools," I have never taught in them but reveal my age in this long-ago usage.
3
This is wonderful for students who know what they're interested in and have found a school setting that suits there passion. I agree that art prepares students for work in a variety of settings. However, most kids DON'T know wherein their passions lie. As a subtitute teacher in the NYC DOE, I've seen the "small specialized high school" model limit students opportunities to explore their interests. My high school, which had 1300 students, had honors classes for the high-achievers, band, theater, art, computer science, AND a county-wide vocational training program that students could start while still in high school (vo-tech is no longer an option in NYC public schools, i am told) Why is this option that gives kids the ability to explore their interests without committing to a carreer path only available to Upper Middle Class kids in suburban/rural areas?
8
As a graduate of this school, I have seen the opposite. My experience was that the school didn't limit opportunities but expanded them. I knew lots of students at the school that actually did not want to go into the arts as a career but came because the school had much better academics then their "inner city" local public school. At New World we had high achieving students and small classes, very ideal learning environment.
10
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Carefully picked by those who don't get it that you need job skills and life skills. When's the last time you saw a "Ten years later" article that had a meaningful analysis of where they all go after all this wonderful FA stuff? Betcha about 5% make it in any real sense, the rest work retail and wonder if it was all worth it.
Carefully picked by those who don't get it that you need job skills and life skills. When's the last time you saw a "Ten years later" article that had a meaningful analysis of where they all go after all this wonderful FA stuff? Betcha about 5% make it in any real sense, the rest work retail and wonder if it was all worth it.
6
Really? Job skills and life skills are lacking among people who study in the arts? Read this article then come back to and talk about it: https://consumerist.com/2013/11/13/busting-the-myth-that-fine-arts-degre...
One of the things that artists have to deal with is that in the arts, it is very hard if not impossible to game the system. Kids who go through academic programs know exactly what they need to do, and so much of it is gamed, what classes to take (heaven help you do something outside your comfort zone), get great grades, get good test scores, take the 'required' courses for a major, and so forth. Problem is these kids have been trained to basically game the system. Kinds in the arts have to deal with auditions, that are not objective, they have to deal with all kinds of people, they have to manage their own time and find time for the many things they do..and arts students have to be self driven.
Want to know a dirty little secret? Goldman Sachs, of all people, the original "give me ivy or give me death", made a big fuss about hiring non traditional students, especially in the arts..and they said they were tired of the finance and economics types, who did everything they could to get hired by Goldman and all trod the same path, they wanted people who could think and do things without being told, and to not just think outside the box, but dare to live outside it.
One of the things that artists have to deal with is that in the arts, it is very hard if not impossible to game the system. Kids who go through academic programs know exactly what they need to do, and so much of it is gamed, what classes to take (heaven help you do something outside your comfort zone), get great grades, get good test scores, take the 'required' courses for a major, and so forth. Problem is these kids have been trained to basically game the system. Kinds in the arts have to deal with auditions, that are not objective, they have to deal with all kinds of people, they have to manage their own time and find time for the many things they do..and arts students have to be self driven.
Want to know a dirty little secret? Goldman Sachs, of all people, the original "give me ivy or give me death", made a big fuss about hiring non traditional students, especially in the arts..and they said they were tired of the finance and economics types, who did everything they could to get hired by Goldman and all trod the same path, they wanted people who could think and do things without being told, and to not just think outside the box, but dare to live outside it.
23
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-finearts-degree-may-be-a-better-choice-th.....
But hey, as with dear old Donny Boy, the idol of the "real America" set who knows being in arts is a waste, why bother with facts when "alt facts" are more important.
But hey, as with dear old Donny Boy, the idol of the "real America" set who knows being in arts is a waste, why bother with facts when "alt facts" are more important.
4
Better than you think, not necessarily better. The pay wall keeps me from reading the entire article.
2
Some motherly advice: major in pharmacy. That is a clearer path out of poverty. And you can earn decent $$$ at your day job, while pursuing your auditions.
4
No. It will be automated soon enough. Many so-called lucrative STEM career paths are going to be disappearing soon. People with creative and critical thinking skills and the ability to work with groups of diverse people will have the advantage in the future job market.
11
I don't quite get the current attitude towards magnet schools - or, should I say, charter schools.
Do they achieve better results by skimming the best students? Are they depriving the public schools of the best students, to the point that it slows down the classroom? Do they lead to better outcomes in two years on reading and science tests - something I haven't seen this article discuss at all? Are they diverting the public education funds for what amounts to private education for some of the members? Do they "indoctrinate" students in arts through a curriculum that's different from regular public schools?
Truth is, I could never quite reconcile the argument against charter schools with the attitudes towards magnet schools. I think it's time to have some sense on the issue.
Do they achieve better results by skimming the best students? Are they depriving the public schools of the best students, to the point that it slows down the classroom? Do they lead to better outcomes in two years on reading and science tests - something I haven't seen this article discuss at all? Are they diverting the public education funds for what amounts to private education for some of the members? Do they "indoctrinate" students in arts through a curriculum that's different from regular public schools?
Truth is, I could never quite reconcile the argument against charter schools with the attitudes towards magnet schools. I think it's time to have some sense on the issue.
Magnet schools are not the same as charter schools. This is still a public school and must meet all the standards of a public school. They do not "indoctrinate" students in the arts, they come because they already have a passion for it. And this is not a conservatory, NWSA students get a great academic education and are high achieving outside of the arts. I am a graduate and am a professional musician, but my best friend from NWSA went to Harvard for bio-statistic. It is clearly a successful school, maybe there are things to learn from it?
19
Magnet schools and charter schools are totally different beasts.
8
Betsy DeVos take notice.
12
My son, a 2017 grad of NWSA has been classically trained cellist since kindergarten. That means weekly lessons @ $75. per hour, out side of school orchestra participation for 12 years with the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, as well as Thursday nights with the Coral Gables Congregational Church Community Arts Program during primary and middle school. He's one of the two kids mentioned that will attend Harvard, class of 2021. He will study political science and finance. Music and the arts are the best gift you can give to a child.
24
Yes they are but I see your child is studying practicle (somewhat) things as well.
1
Thank you for the excellent article on a subject that needs more attention. Note to parents - creative students are now sought after by those looking for "out of the box" thinkers. These schools offer so many young artists a way to meld the chaos in their lives with structure as they develop their talents which as was mentioned is applicable to many jobs. As a first year art school instructor, I love having that conversation where we celebrate, share work and then discuss the rigors they will face of their continued artistic training. You can see magic reflecting in their eyes as they are so eager to get to work. The fortunate ones who have been to these art high schools are often the initial leaders but they know hard work is ahead and don't rest on their past accomplishments. They realize the arts are a rigorous and amazing choice in life whether they had the privilege of early instruction or not.
9
HSPVA in Houston (mentioned below, but not in the article). Home of Beyonce. I suggest a follow-up article on the school in a year...they will be moving into a new building downtown, and are a great example of what can be done when the school system supports magnet schools.
Houston has two other great magnets: one for the health professions (DeBakey, just moving into a new building this Fall) and liberal arts (Carnegie) which moved into new building a few years ago. All are extraordinarily diverse racially, ethnically, and economically (in the city that claims to be the most diverse in the country). And all have their new buildings in or near downtown..part of the movement back to the cities.
Interesting problem: rich white people buying a second home in the city so they can send their kids to these schools, which outperform all the suburbs!
Houston has two other great magnets: one for the health professions (DeBakey, just moving into a new building this Fall) and liberal arts (Carnegie) which moved into new building a few years ago. All are extraordinarily diverse racially, ethnically, and economically (in the city that claims to be the most diverse in the country). And all have their new buildings in or near downtown..part of the movement back to the cities.
Interesting problem: rich white people buying a second home in the city so they can send their kids to these schools, which outperform all the suburbs!
11
Two of my children attended San Francisco's (Ruth Asawa) School of the Arts. While not all graduates become arts professionals, my older son became a professional musician, the younger son a dancer. Both toured the U.S. and the world. Most important, their experience at SOTA indeed included students being judged as individuals and supported across income, ethnic and gender lines. The arts truly bring out the best in us.
13
A couple of posters here missed the fact that some of these programs do not consider grades, etc. for admission. The normal playbook would be to exclude them. Those talented but low scoring grade students would not stand a chance if grades were considered. Is that affirmative action? Shrug. All we are asking is that low performing academic students get some opportunity to excel. They are not all dumb or have low IQs
14
This is a classic argument, usually ignored, for the benefits the arts imbue to young people. The arts are always the first thing cut from school budgets despite constant studies showing how they improve grades and social skills. I attended the High School of Performing Arts from 1961 - 1964, before the Civil Rights Act. There were students from all kinds of backgrounds from all over the city, all respecting each other. You had to keep your grades up in the academic courses to graduate. But background meant nothing, talent and dedication meant everything.
19
" Looking back, they point to one crucial ingredient, beyond intensive, daily training: talent. That was the common denominator — skin tone, sexual identity and ZIP code were often beside the point."
I think this statement both defines why these programs are great, and also why they have a target on their back, why they face severe budget cuts and the ire of conservative politicians. Not just because the Arts are "useless" in their minds, but because the arts are one of those places where places like this cut through privilege, especially money, and more importantly, through interaction rather than realizing there are two worlds, "US" (straight white people) and them (everyone else), kids realize they are one. Among other things, despite blatting on about meritocracy, conservative thought these days are meritocracy means among those whose families can afford to pay for it and if they can't, well, that is how Ayn Rand wanted it, survival of the fittest and all that *sigh*.
I think this statement both defines why these programs are great, and also why they have a target on their back, why they face severe budget cuts and the ire of conservative politicians. Not just because the Arts are "useless" in their minds, but because the arts are one of those places where places like this cut through privilege, especially money, and more importantly, through interaction rather than realizing there are two worlds, "US" (straight white people) and them (everyone else), kids realize they are one. Among other things, despite blatting on about meritocracy, conservative thought these days are meritocracy means among those whose families can afford to pay for it and if they can't, well, that is how Ayn Rand wanted it, survival of the fittest and all that *sigh*.
6
So the NYT celebrates a meritocracy when the outcome fits their narrative, but pushes affirmative active when the outcome does not fit the narrative. More proof that liberals care about equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity.
6
@joe:
Not surprising someone from Iowa wouldn't get this, but in a sense these programs follow the spirit of affirmative action. You don't become a dancer or an actor or a musician without a lot of specialized training (I am talking classical music here, other forms don't necessarily), actors and dancers and musicians have a long road to acquire their craft, you don't do it by teaching yourself in a corn field, it doesn't happen. To get to the point where you can get advanced training requires a lot of specialized training and dedication. In the 'real world', there are tons of private teachers and summer programs and weekend programs in dance, theater and music, that for the most part are expensive and require parents who can afford it, and while some may offer scholarships to a relative few, it creates a barrier based on wealth and where you live, and programs like Juilliard Pre college, for example, are full of kids whose parents could afford private teachers since the kid was very young, summer programs, workshops, theater programs, etc, and the program itself is full of people paying 10k+ for their kid to go there. Programs like this give the kids the opportunity to have similar training but not requiring parental funding, whether you are rich or poor in these schools, the only thing that matters is talent; without them, and only well off kids could experience the arts, and that is not a meritocracy, that is money buying access, which is not a meritocracy.
Not surprising someone from Iowa wouldn't get this, but in a sense these programs follow the spirit of affirmative action. You don't become a dancer or an actor or a musician without a lot of specialized training (I am talking classical music here, other forms don't necessarily), actors and dancers and musicians have a long road to acquire their craft, you don't do it by teaching yourself in a corn field, it doesn't happen. To get to the point where you can get advanced training requires a lot of specialized training and dedication. In the 'real world', there are tons of private teachers and summer programs and weekend programs in dance, theater and music, that for the most part are expensive and require parents who can afford it, and while some may offer scholarships to a relative few, it creates a barrier based on wealth and where you live, and programs like Juilliard Pre college, for example, are full of kids whose parents could afford private teachers since the kid was very young, summer programs, workshops, theater programs, etc, and the program itself is full of people paying 10k+ for their kid to go there. Programs like this give the kids the opportunity to have similar training but not requiring parental funding, whether you are rich or poor in these schools, the only thing that matters is talent; without them, and only well off kids could experience the arts, and that is not a meritocracy, that is money buying access, which is not a meritocracy.
37
Exactly backwards! Affirmative action provides equality of opportunity! The outcome is left to the individual given the chance against the odds of poverty and social standing.
31
No, affirmative action is a racist policy. Good thing the Justice Department looks like it will be investigating the racism built into these programs.
Passion, talent and support. A recipe for success, in many cases, where none was expected!
9
may more students attend such programs on both the high school and undergraduate level. This will drastically reduce the unemployment and underemployment rate in the country's workforce! They will provide a skilled workforce that the private sector is just seeking to fill.
4
New Yorkers may remember The High School of Art & Design. In 1969, as a sophomore, I sat next to students who were pushing way beyond the accepted limits of that time. There were guys in full make-up and proudly bisexual girls; there were currents of creative energy everywhere.
Admittedly, it was a high school with its share of disengaged teachers and students, yet the awareness of how different we all were was part of the oxygen we breathed.
In 2003, I took that sense of expansiveness with me to my work as a Midwest high school guidance counselor, and was shocked when I became the target for a homophobic administration. Years of harassment ensued because I was perceived as the promoter of a student-led movement to start a Gay/Straight Alliance.
Ultimately, I lost my position as a result of the school board’s escalating paranoia, and the students never got their GSA.
A & D, as we called it, was way ahead of its time. Creative high schools are not a luxury--they are essential!
Admittedly, it was a high school with its share of disengaged teachers and students, yet the awareness of how different we all were was part of the oxygen we breathed.
In 2003, I took that sense of expansiveness with me to my work as a Midwest high school guidance counselor, and was shocked when I became the target for a homophobic administration. Years of harassment ensued because I was perceived as the promoter of a student-led movement to start a Gay/Straight Alliance.
Ultimately, I lost my position as a result of the school board’s escalating paranoia, and the students never got their GSA.
A & D, as we called it, was way ahead of its time. Creative high schools are not a luxury--they are essential!
30
My youngest daughter attended HSPVA in Houston, TX. Returned to California,where she was coached in piano, received he BA in piano performance. Was accepted at Univ. of Wyoming where she receive an MA in piano performance. Has spent forty years teaching and performing in Oregon.Those who say you can't make a living in the arts are wrong. You won't become a millionair but you will do well and especially spend a lifetime doing what you love. She plays in local symphonies, recitals, gigs of various kinds and has added early music groups to her repertoire.
25
Denver School of the Arts - middle & high school
http://dsa.dpsk12.org
http://dsa.dpsk12.org
1
Shout out for the School of Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati
10
Being able to attend SCPA kept my son motivated and engaged in school. Singing and acting gave him a reason to go to school. He went on to major in philosophy and work in marketing. Giving students an opportunity to learn what they love pays off in life!
4
Yes! Both of my children attended SCPA and upon graduating, they pursued non-art careers. Both feel that the arts education gave them an advantage in their chosen field.
3
I went to SCPA as well, and feel the same way. I got into a number of art colleges with substantial scholarships during my senior year, but ended up not going. Instead, I ultimately got a PhD and became a professor (no small feat since I was a first generation college student). That said, I strongly feel that the education I got at SCPA helped me develop self-discipline and drive that contributed immeasurably to my success once I got to college. I'd sent my own kid to an arts magnet school in a heartbeat.
This story gives me hope! Keep up that state funding. It is good sense to feed our children art! All of them, not just the rich ones.
9
Color-blind meritocracies where motivation, talent exhibited through audition, hard work, repetition, and "a rising tide lifts all boats." Sounds like a conservative's dream. Now, can we please track students into all high schools based on their motivation to learn and their academic abilities as exhibited through their work?
9
It should be noted that these kinds of performances are also happening in high schools throughout the country. As a principal of a suburban high school for many years, one of the great perks of the job, was sitting in concerts and plays that presented amazing levels of talent and dedication to a craft. That growth and the quality of the performances I watched was largely due to teachers in our extracurricular program, whose passion for theater or music, was transferred to the students in their classes and after school productions.
7
Would also like to add that LaGuarida is probably the most diverse school in NYC---racially, economically, and academically diverse. In a city that has one of the most segregated school systems in the country, much can be learned from LaG's success. Rather than filtering out kids who don't have a 90 average in middle school, or can ace a one-time test, LaG considers the whole child. Some kids end up in the ivy league and MIT, some end up in community college, or turn professional. My daughter had friends that lived in penthouses, and friends that had spent time in homeless shelters. All that mattered is that they had talent and a love of the arts. I don't know if there is a better school int eh city for preparing them for the world they will live in, whether or not they decide to pursue the arts as a career.
26
Not a PC point of view, but the truth: LaGuardia trumpets the great schools their grads attend, but only a tiny group go to top-tier traditional colleges or even conservatories (the public would be shocked to know that Julliard basically won't accept Laguardia's dance grads, for example). Some of the other schools manage to overcome the problem of academics; LaGuardia's are by and large poor to middling. Teachers can't or won't put in the time to correct English papers, for example, so no one learns very well how to write, except for the one year some of them have a particular English teacher known to all. (The exceptions are the kids who learned the basics of good writing before they got to LaGuardia.) The ethos of school has been shameful for decades. Too bad, as there are many students who want to work hard and learn, both in their artistic field and academics, but they are woefully in the minority.
4
Often the greatest advantage, career-wise, of attending an arts school or college is the opportunity to make a large number of connections at the school itself. Whether faculty or classmates, these "co-artists" often have the outside contacts (and knowledge of "how things work") that can develop an ongoing career.
4
My daughter is a graduate of the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) in New Haven, CT which is a similar school that has an afternoon Arts program. Students come from the city of New Haven as well as over 20 surrounding districts after taking their core academics at their sending schools. It was a life saver for my daughter who blossomed into a proficient singer. She was afforded the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall, travel to China on a cultural exchange trip and earned a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Memphis where she's beginning her sophomore year as a Music Business major. Great article and communities need to continue to invest in successful programs like these. As a parent I shared my daughter's story recently at the state capitol hearings to fight dramatic budget cuts.
14
My years at the High School of Music and Art, then on 137th St. before it was joined with its sister school Performing Arts near Lincoln Center, were a dream come true, even though it took well over an hour to get to from Staten Island. It was run more as a university than many actual universities I experienced later in life affording independence and its resulting responsibilities with it. It showed me what truly great education should look like.
14
And don't forget New Orleans Center for Creative Arts - notable graduates include Branford and Wynton Marsalis, both classmates of mine when I was there.
3
Defunding or underfunding schools that produce these types of results is just criminal. I only wish there were more of them.
40
Bravo for shining a light on these wonderful schools. My husband is an alum of the High School for Visual and Performing Arts in Houston and it changed his life.
21
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts is another exemplary arts/academic school in Jacksonville, Florida
5
Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington shares a building with one of the top rated stem schools in the country. They not only share facilities, but combine for sports, marching band, and students can also "cross over" some classes. It's a synergy that is of great benefit to everyone involved with both schools. Considering the well documented relationships between math aptitude and musical aptitude, and the need for creativity in the higher sciences, combined with dedicated, passionate students at both schools who had to work hard just to get in. It's a recipe for success, and I believe this is a model for other schools to emulate.
24
Cab is an amazing school. Consistently ranked in top 2 for public high schools in DE. Excellent academics, talented student artists of many diverse arts disciplines, dedicated teachers, and a creative, accepting learning environment. I love that it starts with middle school, love that it shares space with Charter, and I agree that it is both a recipe for success and a model for other schools to emulate.
1
Excellent article. Please follow up with an article on the STEM Magnet Schools and graduates from them.
15
I'd like to see that too, but I think the STEM magnet schools in NYC don't have the type of diversity that fits the Times' narrative. I have actually seen those schools portrayed rather negatively in the Times, mostly because of their reliance on grades and test scores.
2
The arts teach discipline, skill, critical and creative thinking, understanding and exploration of self and others, how to get along and communicate in a group, how to use tools, spatial awareness, implicit math, structure, volume, motion and much more. Also, and critically, a love of learning how to do things, of being engaged in the act of learning and improving.
Any employer should love having someone trained in the arts as an employee, no matter what the field.
Any employer should love having someone trained in the arts as an employee, no matter what the field.
52
This is exactly the reason for developing and maintaining strong arts programs in all our schools, elementary through college. The students mentioned in the article came to these arts schools already adept at painting or music, etc. That's how they were able to present an impressive portfolio or a knockout audition. But they would have had to first develop their passion at an earlier age, in an elementary school program or a church choir. Schools at all levels need to provide arts programs for students to discover creative talent they didn't know that they had. Thats why it is crucial that school boards understand the importance of quality, well-funded arts programs, not just at magnet schools but at ALL schools. Yes, the arts do teach creative and collaborative skills. They are also a gateway to learn about computers, science and mathematics (get a painting student to make their own paint and it's a gateway to chemistry). The arts encourage young people to make these connections in ways that are exciting to them. Excitement = learning.
7
The Chicago Academy for the Arts is another excellent arts high school.
10
Great story -- and I want to highlight the fact that one of the factors in the success is the small class size and tutors. That kind of attention can change everything. Class size really matters - as does access to tutors and helping students realize their passions.
58
Also, the article doesn't explain why the state legislature threatened to cut the school's funds this year. According to a Miami Herald article, state legislators claimed the school hadn't completed a required annual report. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article147588659.html
The academics at the school appear to be top-notch for a motivated student; my daughter was assigned a significant amount of required summer work, and the school had a one week mandatory orientation in June that the academic teachers attended along with the art strand teachers.