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Education

School of Visual and Performing Arts Aims to Nurture Talent

In the not too distant future‚ teenagers around here will be acting out‚ singing a different tune and marching to the beat of their own drummers.

And they will be applauded for it.

Those young creative types will be enrolled at the Iredell-Statesville School District’s School of Visual and Performing Arts‚ set to open in 2008 with 400 students.

“This is an exciting new program that will serve students in the areas of visual and performing arts‚” says Principal Lisa M. Miller‚ who came on board Aug. 1.

The school is a “learn and earn” early-college high school‚ the ninth such school in the state. Students will earn an endorsement in fine arts that will appear on their diplomas when they graduate from high school. It is part of the North Carolina New Schools Project‚ sponsored by Gov. Mike Easley‚ that allows students to earn both an associates degree and a high school diploma in five years. The new Visual and Performing Arts School will be partnered with Mitchell Community College and Catawba College.

“The county commissioners did a proposal last fall where they asked for a vision for 2025‚” Miller says. “They determined that we needed to do more in Iredell County for visual and performing arts.”

Visits were made across the state to determine the best offerings for area students. As a result‚ instruction will include choral arts‚ dance‚ theater art‚ visual arts and orchestra.

The school will incorporate the Mac Gray Auditorium‚ a 1942 facility whose renovation has kept some of the charm of the historic structure. Classes will be held in a new building that is adjacent to it.

“My background is band and music‚ and I’m just thrilled to be a part of this‚ especially when you have students and teachers who are eager to participate and grow with it‚” Miller says.

Other teachers on board include theater and orchestra instructors. Some students will be accepted as early as January 2008. The early college classes will begin next fall.

The student-selection process will include an application and an audition or portfolio submission‚ depending on the student’s area of interest.

“Most of the kids and parents I’ve talked to are very excited‚” Miller says. “A lot of them are taking piano‚ dance‚ voice‚ things like that‚ and they are thrilled to have something that is special for them.

“This is not to take away from their high schools‚ but to enhance it. Some of them will have AP [Advance Placement] credit‚ so they’re just thrilled to take it up a notch from what they have in their traditional high school.”

Story by Catherine Darnell
Photo by Ian Curcio

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