Girard Academic Music Program
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The Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP) is a magnet secondary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school is operated by the School District of Philadelphia.
GAMP covers grades five through twelve, and offers many extracurricular activities including: concert band, orchestra, chamber strings, jazz band, concert choir, high school and middle school choirs, middle school band, theatre productions, instrumental lessons for beginners, for that reason most non music programs don't exist.
The school is very concentrated on the performing arts but still enjoys a fine academic tradition. GAMP offers advanced placement courses in Music Theory, Biology, Psychology, History, and English.
Principal Angelo Milicia and Music Director/Assistant Principal Dr. Jack Carr administer the school. The school is broken up into three primary aspects. The first is Music Theory/Music Technology, which every student must take, the concentration of these subjects intensifies when students enter the high school level. The next aspect is Instrumental. Students who take lessons are required to participate in the beginner level bands, when they reach the high school level they may enter the more complicated bands that the school offers. Their open eighth or free period is geared towards the practice for these musical ensembles. Last is the vocal training. All students from grades 5-12 are required to participate in the choir with the choirs being broken up into Middle School Choir (grades 5-8), and High School Choir (grades 9-12). However there are students that exceed others at the art of singing and can try out for the special Concert Choir which only includes high school students, but exceptions can be made for students in 8th grade with exceptional vocal talent. The Concert Choir is the heart and soul of GAMP, touring and performing for many high ranking officials in the Philadelphia School District, and also performs for other musical fixtures in the Philadelphia Area. The Concert Choir has performed for United States President Bill Clinton, the Philadelphia Phillies, Mayor of Philadelphia John Street, and many other local political and district officials.
GAMP is very popular with the South Philadelphia community and known for their Broadway plays and talent shows, alternating annually.
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[edit] History
The Girard Academic Music Program began operation in September 1974 as an alternative program within the Stephen Girard School at 18th and Snyder Avenue. It began with one 4th and one 5th grade class of approximately 55 students, 2 academic teachers, 1 teacher’s aide and 1 music teacher/coordinator. They were the pioneers who initiated the academic and musical success of the school. The program has been housed in 3 locations:
The Trinity Church Parish House (18th & Wolf Streets); 1974 -1976
The Armory, owned by St. Rita’s Church (Broad & Wharton Streets) 1976 - 1979
The Poe Building (22nd & Ritner Street) 1979 - till the present. As one of the first Small Learning Communities, GAMP has grown to its present size of a staff of 30 and over 500 students that include grades 5 through 12. The unique school organization has all students as “music majors” providing the framework for the development of a strong academic and musical program. With a 98% - 100% college acceptance rate among each senior class and scholarships valued at over one to two million dollars yearly, GAMP continues to grow in stature within the city of Philadelphia.
[edit] School uniforms
Students enrolled in the school are required to wear school uniforms [1] [2].
[edit] Mascot
The GAMP mascot is the Pioneer. The mascot was named in a contest with Robert Fiss's selection of "Pioneers". "Quakers" was the second choice. The Pioneer was chosen because pioneers were courageous and contributed to the growth of this nation. GAMP is a pioneer in the field of education, by instilling in every student, the art of music, making it a rarity in the School District of Philadelphia. Much like the Pioneers contributed to the growth of this nation by courageously settling unknown frontiers, GAMP contributes to the growth of young minds.
[edit] Sports
The school has varsity Baseball, Male Tennis, Basketball, Girls' Softball, and Cheerleading.
