The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public arts high school/secondary school in Baltimore, Maryland and is part of its Baltimore City Public Schools system. It was established 1979. The Baltimore School for the Arts offers art concentrations in vocal music, instrumental music, theater acting, theater production, dance, visual arts and film. The high school has produced numerous "Presidential Scholars" in the Arts and its students have gone on to attend major conservatories and Ivy League Schools.
In 2016, the BSA was named a Silver Medal School by the U.S. News and World Report magazine and was ranked 1,560th nationally and 44th in the state of Maryland (first overall in Baltimore City).
History
Baltimore School for the Arts - A Typical Day (BSA) -
In 1979, the President of the Board of School Commissioners authored a Charter creating the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). In the form of a resolution of the School Board, this Charter followed many years of effort to create an arts high school, including a 1978 recommendation of a special Task Force appointed and given strong support by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer, (1921-2011), [served 1971-1986]; [later Governor of Maryland, 1987-1995, Comptroller of Maryland, 1999-2007]. The BSA was created as part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system, however the charter provided the BSA with the structure and the authority to design and implement policies and programs necessary to be successful in its mission as a pre-professional arts high school. The charter stated "that it differ from other Baltimore city high schools by training students with potential for careers in the performing and visual arts."
Mission
The Baltimore School for the Arts is a school that intends to prepare its students for careers in the arts. The school provides qualified students with training in one of five arts disciplines: music (vocal/instrumental), visual arts, theatre (acting/theater production), dance, or film in combination with a comprehensive, college preparatory academic program. The theater and music majors are split into two groups each: for the theater department, there is both acting and Stage Design and Production, and the music department is split into vocal and instrumental.
A further mission of the school is to serve as an arts resource for the Baltimore community by offering performances, educational workshops and extensive after-school training in the arts to Baltimore children. This offered through a program called TWIGS, which is open to 2nd-8th graders.
Academics
The Baltimore School for the Arts is a four-year public high school that provides young people with intensive, pre-professional training in the arts within the context of a comprehensive, college preparatory academic curriculum. Working with a distinguished faculty, students pursue any one of four disciplinesâ€"the visual arts, music (vocal or instrumental), theater (acting or theater production), dance and filmâ€"in an environment that emphasizes professionalism and scholarship. About 380 students attend the school, coming from public and private schools in and around Baltimore. Students are accepted by a separate audition or portfolio review, though they only allow this for starting, 8th and 9th grades.
In Media
- The school in the film 2006 film Step Up was a fictionalized version of BSA, called The Maryland School for the Arts. There are some significant differences between the institution portrayed in the film and the real school, and some parts of the movie were filmed in the school.
- The Maryland School for the Arts also provided the setting for the 2008 film sequel to Step Up, Step Up 2 The Streets although again, most of the actual filming of the movie did not take place inside BSA.
Notable alumni
- Tupac Shakur, 1989 â€" Hip hop artist, actor 1971-1996.
- Jada Pinkett Smith, 1989 â€" Actress.
- Mia Brownell, 1989 â€" Artist.
- Christian Siriano, 2003 â€" Fashion designer and Project Runway winner.
- Tracie Thoms, 1993 â€" Actress.
- Makeba Riddick, 1996 â€" Songwriter.
- Josh Charles â€" Actor.
- Antonio Hart, 1986 â€" Jazz saxophonist.
- Katherine Needleman, 1996 â€" classical oboist.
- Larry Gilliard, Jr. â€" Actor
- Stefania Dovhan, 1998 - Soprano
- Sara VanDerBeek, 1994 - Photographer
- Shinique Smith, 1987 - Painter, Sculptor, Installation and Video Artist
- Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, 1986 - Dancer
References
External links
Media related to Baltimore School for the Arts at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Maryland Report Card â€" Baltimore School for the Arts
