Dreyfoos School of the Arts
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| Established | 1989 |
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| Type | Public (magnet) secondary |
| Principal | Ellen Van Arsdale |
| Students | 1,350 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | West Palm Beach, Florida, United States |
| District | Palm Beach County School District |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Gold and Black |
| Mascot | Jaguar |
| Art Areas | Communication Arts, Dance, Digital Media, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts |
| School of the Arts Foundation | http://www.soafi.org/ |
| Website | http://www.awdsoa.org/ |
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Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts (DSOA) is a public arts magnet high school located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Formerly named the Palm Beach County School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SOA), the school was renamed in recognition of a 1997 donation of $1,000,000 by West Palm Beach philanthropist Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr.
The school draws talented students from across Palm Beach County into one of its six art departments: Communication Arts, Dance, Digital Media, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. Students major in their art area, taking at least two art area classes per year. In addition, students complete a rigorous college preparatory curriculum of math, science, English, history/social science, foreign language, health, and gym.
The School was named the 19th Best High School in the Nation by Newsweek Magazine in May of 2007 and has been consistently ranked in the top 50 best High Schools for the past 5 years. The Florida Department of Education named Dreyfoos the #5 High School in Florida for 2006. The State of Florida has ranked DSOA as an 'A' school for seven years, and the school has attained Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act for four consecutive years.
The Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
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[edit] Audition process
The Dreyfoos School of the Arts accepts students entering grade nine through twelve by audition. Students must first submit the Choice Programs Application to the School District of Palm Beach County's Department of School Choice and Choice Programs. The deadline for application submission for the 2008-2009 school term is December 21, 2007. Next, auditioning students must attend the Audition Sign-Up Days in the Dreyfoos cafeteria to schedule their audition. Audition Sign-Up Days are January 17, 2008 from 4:30pm until 7:00pm and January 19, 2008 from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Audition dates run from the week of January 28, 2008 through March 1, 2008. Audition results are mailed to the address of record on a date that is determined by the School District of Palm Beach County, typically in mid-April.
You must be a legal resident of Palm Beach County in order to apply and matriculate at Dreyfoos School of the Arts. The school does not accept mid-year transfer students.
Prospective applicants and their parents should contact the Palm Beach County School District [1].
[edit] Curriculum
Students in their first year at DSOA are given a fairly rounded course selection in their art area. Visual Arts majors, for example, take a year long drawing class as well as a semester of sculpture, and a semester of 2-D design. A few students are able to take photography. In subsequent years, students are allowed, and often encouraged to specialize in an area of the department; Communications majors may work in creative writing, graphics, journalism, television, film, or speech and debate. Theater majors may focus primarily on technical theater, acting, or musical theater. Visual majors may concentrate on sculpture, painting, photography or printmaking. Dance majors train in a style such as ballet or modern. The one exception is music, in which a student is given intensive training in their instrument of expertise (or voice) for the duration of their high school career. Music majors include band, keyboard, orchestra, and vocal.
[edit] Alumni and accolades
The Class of 2007 boasted a 98.9% graduation rate with 95% of the graduating class going on to attend post-secondary educational institutions. Additionally, the Class of 2007 collectively received approximately $8.4 million in scholarship offers.
The Dreyfoos School of the Arts Debate team won the prestigious National Public Policy Forum for the second year in a row in 2007. It is not only the first school to win the New York University/Bickel and Brewer Law Firm competition in consecutive years, but is the first public high school to win the competition in its history.
In 2005 the school's student newsmagazine the Muse, became the first school publication in Florida to win the National Scholastic Press Association's prestigious Pacemaker award, a recognition of the top ten student publications in the United States.
The school's newscast received fourth place in "Best in Show" at the 2007 National Scholastic Press Association Spring Convention. [2]
The School's literary magazine, Seeds, received fourth place in the "Best in Show" at the 2007 Fall Convention of the National Scholastic Press Association.
The school's Theater Department won the Southeastern Theater Conference festival with its production of Kindertransport. Numerous other productions have received high ratings at the Florida Theater Conference and the Florida State Thespian Festival.
[edit] Location
The Dreyfoos School of the Arts campus is located in downtown West Palm Beach at 501 South Sapodilla Avenue, adjacent to the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts [3], and the Cityplace entertainment district. Located across Tamarind Avenue is the Tri-Rail train station, which makes commuting for the students in the southern portion of the county fairly easy.
[edit] History
The school currently resides at the historic Central Schools campus, where the oldest building was built in 1908. The school was previously named the Palm Beach County School of the Arts from its opening in August of 1990 until the opening of the renovated Central Schools campus for the 1997-98 school year. The original campus was the old North Shore High School campus in West Palm Beach.
[edit] Funding
Dreyfoos School of the Arts is funded by the School District of Palm Beach County. The School of the Arts Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 that exists to provide supplemental funding for items and services for which the School District cannot provide funding.
[edit] See also
- Bak Middle School of the Arts
- Suncoast Community High School Public Math and Science Magnet in Palm Beach County
By Arts Association
