Arizona School for the Arts

Arizona School for the Arts is a non-profit public charter school in Phoenix, Arizona. Emphasis is placed on a college preparatory curriculum and the performing arts.

Arizona School for the Arts
Address
1410 N 3rd St

Phoenix
,
Arizona
85004

United States
Coordinates33°27′52″N 112°04′11″W
Information
School typePublic charter school
MottoGoASA
Established1995
Head of schoolLeah Fregulia-Roberts
Grades5–12
Enrollment371 students (October 1, 2007); 264 high school students (October 1, 2010) Currently ASA has been close to capacity with 845 students in grades 5-12[1]
Color(s)Red, white, black
MascotStumpy the Pigeon
Websitewww.goasa.org

History

It was founded in 1995 by Mark S. Francis, with 155 students in grades 7-10. By 2002, it had grown to 280 students. In 2005, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school.[2]

In 2008, it bought two buildings adjacent to its existing campus as demand for growth increased. This growth has allowed ASA to expand its enrollment by 80 high school students between 2007 and 2010.

In 2019, Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego proclaimed May 30th as Arizona School For The Arts Day.

Format

School begins at 7:45 AM. Students in grades 7-12 attend five academic classes in the morning and arts courses in the afternoon. Middle school students in 5-6 have two academic classes in the morning, two arts classes, then three academics in the afternoon. All students take math, English, science, and social studies; high school students take French or Spanish; and middle school students take piano, a class called Life Skills, and choir. Middle school students are allowed to pick one art (band, orchestra, dance, theatre, or guitar) in addition to piano and choir. High school students are allowed to pick both of their art courses and can pay to take a third after official school hours end (9th period: 3:15-4:15). As students reach the end of their sophomore year they must choose an art major, once decided majors can not be changed. Starting sophomore year, high school students can be selected to take AP classes to earn college credits. The school shuts its doors at 4:30 PM every day unless specifically noted.

Every third quarter, all students have to work mostly on one big project assigned to their grade called 3rd Quarter Presentation (3QP). 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students do an assignment facilitated by English and History teachers. 6th, 8th, and 10th grade students, on the other hand, do a scientific lab project. This is why the school technically has two weeks of spring break. The first week, students pick a time to come to the school and present their project using a trifold board or Google Slides (recently added for high school students). The project takes up 15% percent of the students' grade and is the most time-consuming project in the year. Seniors (12th graders), however, do not do third quarter presentations. They rather work on a similar assignment that takes the full year called Capstone. The students pick a world-wide concern and create a presentation on the side effects of the problem. They also have to explain how they would fix the problem and give evidence behind it. These are submitted during the last quarter of the year instead of the third. This project heavily ways on a student's final grade which is why other presentations during the third quarter build up to it.

Annual Events

The school has one half-day a month on a Wednesday. Students are sent home early and teachers have meetings.

  • All School Picnics: There are four all school picnics held throughout the year (one in each quarter). Students have a shortened schedule to allow for an hour long lunch period. The students can buy pizza (pre-purchased or not) and can participate in several different activities. These include cooking-decorating tables, face painting, buying school merchandise, life-sized Jenga, physical activities on the fields, and a dance party in the bandshell. These are the only times during the year that the whole school has lunch together.
  • Spirit Weeks: There are two weeks where every day, students can dress up as a theme. One falls on the week of Halloween (making that day one of the themes), and another occurs the week before spring break. The themes are decided by StuGo, and they are announced through the school announcements and posters spread around the campus. The themes are often alliterations of the weekday (Workout Wednesday, Trendy Tuesday, Matching Monday, etc.)
  • Falapallooza: A fall carnival that all students can attend. There are bouncy houses, food trucks, booths with mini games, a rock-climbing wall, and live music. Many of the booths are organized by student run clubs around campus. The event starts at 5:30 PM and ends at 10:00 PM.
  • Diner Night: One of the two talent shows held throughout the year. It takes place in October and is performed in the school's bandshell. All of the acts are performed by students and can include any art. However, there is not actual prize or winner like other talent shows.
  • Retreat Day: A half day in November where students skip classes and participate in games/activities around campus. They usually all relate to a theme which is decided by the senior class of that year. Themed videos are played throughout the school week before to explain the expository plot line. The mini games are all run by seniors and juniors serve as tour guides throughout the day.
  • Movie Days: These are two days throughout the year where students skip classes and go to Harkins Movie Theatre in Christown. One of the days is the last day of the first semester (December 22), and the other is the last day of school (June 2). The event starts at 8:00 AM and usually ends around 11:30 AM. Students buy tickets ahead of time on the school website.
  • Disneyland Turn-Around Trip: On the weekend of MLK Day, students can pay the school to be taken to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Students bring their bags to school that Friday, board the buses at 4:30, and leave at 5:30. When they arrive in California, they sleep overnight at a hotel near Disneyland. At 9:00 AM they drive to the park and spend the whole Saturday there. Students, however, are not allowed to take the monorail to Downtown Disney or California Adventure. The students leave the park at 10:00 PM that night and sleep on the way back to Arizona. They arrive at 6:00 AM and are taken home by parents. The trip usually costs $250-$300 (not including food or merchandise purchased at the park). Students sign up for the trip in November and have to submit their forms by the end of that month. In the hotel, students are roomed with 3-4 other students from different grades. They have the choice of picking someone to room with, but they can also choose not to.
  • Valentine's Day Grams: On the week leading up to Valentine's Day, students can send grams (notes in the shape of hearts with candy attached) to other students. They cost a dollar to send and they can be bought before school and at lunch.
  • Cafe Night: A similar performance to Diner Night, only it takes place during April instead of October

Performances

Each art elective holds several performances throughout the year. Each art usually does one public concert/performance a semester (two each year).

Theatrical Performances

The theatre department holds four major productions during the school year. Two of the shows are done by middle schoolers, and the other two done by high school students. Both middle school and high school students do one play and one musical, which students can nominate the year prior. The productions are performed and designed fully by students. In 2018, a live band was also added for all musicals and it is made up of band/orchestra students. The 2019-2020 production schedule combined the musical so that both middle and high school students could do a show with a bigger budget. This attempt worked for the most part but most likely won't happen again for some time. The 2019-2020 productions were:

  • Hay Fever: High school play (November 14-17, 2019) at the Herberger Theater.
    • Directed by Aaron Thacker
    • Technical Direction by Melissa Rex
  • Mary Poppins: Combined school musical (January 30 - February 9, 2020) at Phoenix Center For The Arts.
    • Directed by Rob Chambers
    • Musical Direction by Elise Kurbat
    • Choreography by Jordan Daniels
    • Technical Direction by Melissa Rex
  • Jungle Book: Middle school play (February 27 - March 1, 2020) at the Herberger Theater.
    • Directed by Craig Kosnik
    • Technical Direction by Melissa Rex

Choral Collage

Each winter, choir students in all grades perform a winter themed concert at Brophy College Preparatory. The concert takes place on a Tuesday in December and usually begins at 7:30 PM. It usually ends at 9:30 PM. Specific students from band, orchestra, and dance are sometimes asked to provide accompaniment/dance entertainment during the pieces. There is usually an intermission halfway through the performance. In recent years, ASA made the decision to send the students to Brophy right after lunch to rehearse. This was done to make a smoother performance and has proven successful.

Showcase

This is the school's biggest performance of the year. Every student participates and performs their art in some way. There are two performances and they are both different. It is a performance for family and friends to attend to see their hard-working students. It is performed at the Orpheum Theatre near the school. The rehearsals for the performance begin after May 22 (the last day of academic classes). Students rehearse for two weeks until the performances in the last week of May (Wednesday 5/29 or 5/30 and Thursday 5/30 or 5/31). The show is ran backstage by students in technical theater, and for singing acts, band or orchestra students play in the pit. The show sometimes has a plot behind it, but it is mostly a revue of sorts with an overall theme.

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References
  1. AIA enrollment figures and conference alignment Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-2003.pdf


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