Most public schools and high schools in the United States are traditional teaching a curriculum that will get you ready for college. There are other schools, however, that focus one area like creative and performing arts. This article will look into three such schools located in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. They have traditional classes as well as classes to promote the artistic talents of their students. SPCA in Cincinnati has been shown in a reality television series on MTV giving viewers an idea of what a school like this is like showing singers seated at a piano with a piano lamp or piano lamps shining down on them as they get ready to compete in an all school talent show, in one episode.
The first school is the one mentioned earlier named SPCA which stands for the School of Performing and Creative Arts located in the Over-the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. It is the first public arts school in the country and the enrollment has increased by 60% over the past year following the airing of the reality show Taking the Stage showed what the school is like on MTV. The show is similar to a real life Fame exploring the lives of various artistic students pursuing their dreams of being a professional dancer, rapper or songwriter. A newly built facility and building will be opened for SPCA for next year to house the 988 students in grades 4-12. Academics are as good as the arts here being named a Blue ribbon School in the past.
Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts has the mission to support all of the creative talents of their students while also giving them a solid college prep academic curriculum. The arts that are offered here are creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, vocal music and visual arts. In order to be accepted to CAPA you must have good grades from your previous school and do an audition in the art area you want to major in. The well known boy band called, Boyz II Men are alumni of the Philadelphia Arts school.
The Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School began in 1979 with about 35 students and has grown over the years to now have students in grades 6-12 at the school learning various arts programs. During the 2003-2004 school year, they moved into a new facility that has a large auditorium, a theatre, an art gallery, a television studio and large rehearsal areas for all of the various arts to practice in. This new building puts this school above the several others in the area and due to that, the competition to get in to this school is very difficult.
There are over 350 arts schools in America, but just a handful of them have been nationally recognized for being some of the best including the ones described in this article. Kids are becoming more interested in arts schools now and the Taking the Stage program will definitely increase the interest.