Durham School of the Arts
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| Durham School of the Arts |
|
| Motto | "Rebuilding and Redefining Academic Excellence!" |
| Established | 1996 |
| Type | Government Secondary school |
| Principal | Dr. Ronald Roukema |
| Grades | 6 through 12 |
| Location | 400 North Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701 Durham, North Carolina United States |
| District | Durham Public Schools |
| Campus | Urban area |
| Colors | Blue, black and white |
| Mascot | Bulldog |
| Yearbook | "Flashback" |
| Newspaper | "The Gallery" |
| Website | Official Website |
Durham School of the Arts (DSA) is a secondary (middle and high) magnet school located in downtown Durham, North Carolina, housing 1,381 students[1]. Its focus is on the visual and performing arts. Offerings include extensive 3D and 2D art, dance, guitar, strings, band, piano, acting, technical theatre, and computer classes. Test scores are the best in its school district, and either excel or are on par with the state average. Students are enrolled by a lottery system and can enroll as early as the sixth grade.
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[edit] Background
DSA is the result of the combination of the campuses of the former Durham High School and the former Carr Middle School. It opened for the first time in 1996 as Durham Magnet Center, a middle school. Every year for four years after a grade was added until the school was grades six through twelve. DSA had its first graduating class in 2000.
Teachers of all subjects try to incorporate the Arts into their teaching to engage students.
The only way to get into DSA is through the school lottery. Students living near the school do not automatically gain enrollment, although many have made it into the school through the official lottery. Most students are admitted in 6th grade, though there are no rules prohibiting entrance after that age, and there is some turnover in other grades. The primary year for turnover is 9th grade, when many students move to other area high schools. Approximately 200 students are in each grade.
The campus consists of six semiconnected buildings-the Julian S. Carr Building, the Black Box Theater, formerly the Durham High School auto shop, the Media Center, the Weaver Auditorium, the Main Building, the Gymnasium, and the Science and Math Academy Building.
[edit] Classes
DSA is the only high school in the DPS system that hasn't switched to a block schedule as of the 2006-2007 school year. This means that while other high schools offer eight classes a year, four per semester, DSA offers seven yearlong classes, along with semester-long classes for middle school and a limited selection for high school.
Unlike many other schools in the area, DSA follows the integrated math system, consisting of Integrated Algebra and Geometry (IAG) I through III, as well as IAG IV Social and Quantitative. IAG IV Quantitative (IAG IV Q) is pre-calculus.
[edit] Middle School
At DSA 6th and 7th graders are divided into 'teams.' In sixth grade you are either a 'Knight,' or a 'Dragon.' Both teams have their own spaces in the basement. These areas contain all of a teams' core classes-mathematics, language arts, social studies and science, along with the lockers of the members of the teams. They are separated by a hallway.
In 7th grade, interteam communication is encouraged. The two teams, the 'Navigators' and the 'Explorers,' are both on the 2nd floor of the main building. No physical boundry separates the areas, but students are not allowed to go onto the other team's hallway during their core class hours--1st period through 4th period.
Eighth graders are allowed freedom similar to that of high schoolers and are not divided into teams. They have lunch with and take electives with high schoolers, unlike the 6th and 7th graders who eat lunches with their classes. They also take P.E. as a semester long class, rather than a year long class alternated with a study hall period.
[edit] High School
High schoolers have the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These include AP English IV (Literature and Composition), AP Statistics, AP Physics, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP US History, AP European History, and AP Psychology. They are also offered the opportunity to take Independent Study classes to study subjects not offered there.
[edit] Recent Events
In May 2005, Durham School of the Arts performed The Laramie Project, about a homosexual being beaten and killed. Ten members of Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church came from Topeka, Kansas to protest. They were met by over 200 counter-protesters. In fact, counter protesters out showed the protesters 10 to 1. The actors and producers were given the Independent Weekly's Valor Award for ignoring protests by Phelp's group. [2]
