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.

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.
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 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. 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. 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. The project takes up 15% percent of the students' grade and is the most time-consuming project in the year. Seniors, 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.
Each art elective holds several performances throughout the year. Each art usually does one public concert/performance a semester.

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:
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. Students rehearse for two weeks until the performances in the last week of May. 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.

Notable alumni