Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy

Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
Address
1903 North Niagara Street Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw County 48602 United States
Coordinates	43°25′58″N 83°56′41″W / 43.43281°N 83.94484°W / 43.43281; -83.94484Coordinates: 43°25′58″N 83°56′41″W / 43.43281°N 83.94484°W / 43.43281; -83.94484
Information
Type	Public magnet middle school and high school
Motto	"Moving Futures Beyond."
Established	1981 (1981)[1]
Status	Open
School district	Saginaw Public School District
Superintendent	Kelley A. Peatross, Ph.D. (Interim)
CEEB code	233282
NCES School ID	263039001171[2]
Principal	Priscilla Arocha-Roby [3]
Teaching staff	29.30 (2012-13)[2]
Grades	6 to 12
Gender	Co-ed
Number of students	621 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 6	103 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 7	102 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 8	131 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 9	97 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 10	74 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 11	63 (2012-13)[2]
• Grade 12	51 (2012-13)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	21.19 (2012-13)[2]
Color(s)	Burgundy and Navy[4]
Athletics conference	Michigan Summit Leaguet[4]
Mascot	Dragons
Class	C[4]
Formerly	Center for the Arts and Sciences (CAS)[1]
Website	www.spsd.net/sasa/

Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, or SASA, is a small public high school and middle school for developmentally advanced children in Saginaw, Michigan. From its founding in the early 1980s until 1999, it was known as the Center for the Arts & Sciences (CAS). During this period, it was a half-day school utilizing a concentration, or major, program to allow students to focus on specialized areas of study, while spending the other half of the day at their home school. In 1999, the name was changed, and SASA became a full day school, allowing students to take other required classes in addition to their concentration. As of the 2009-10 school year the enrollment is nearing 700 full and half day students. The previous principal of SASA is Melleretha Moses-Johnson who was, in turn, preceded by Janet Nash.

History

The Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy is located in a building that originally housed a Montgomery Ward department store.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the CAS shared its building with the Ruben Daniels Center for Lifelong Education, an adult and alternative high school also run by the Saginaw School district. The CAS met with surprising success, and began drawing students from throughout the Saginaw-valley area, including Saginaw, Bay, and Midland counties.

In the late 1990s, a committee of students, parents, and teachers, led by Aurora Vanston, began a campaign to expand the school to include a full-day option. This committee took on the name "The River School Project", owing to the school's location on the banks of the Saginaw River near downtown Saginaw. Although the committee met with much doubt and resistance, support gradually built, and after several meetings the Saginaw School Board eventually unanimously approved plans to expand the school and change the name to the Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy. In 1999, full-day programs were added for the 9th and 10th grade, with the 11th grade following in 2000, and the 12th grade in 2001. The school initially had far fewer full-day students than half-day, but since the early days of the full-day program, full-time enrollment has greatly expanded.

The Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy was recently renovated. It has received three new full science labs, an atrium, gymnasium, and a new performing arts center. These additions were opened at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school years.

References

External links

• SASA's Homepage