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|---|---|
| Established | 1984 |
| Type | Public Alternative High school |
| Principal | Kim Bruno |
| Founder | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| 9–12 | |
| Location | 100 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, New York, USA |
| District | 10 |
| Campus | urban |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Newspaper | State of the Arts |
| Literary magazine | The Lively Arts |
| Merger of | The High School of Music & Art (1934) |
| and | High School of Performing Arts (1947) |
| Website | http://www.laguardiahs.org |
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Martin Luther King, Jr. High School and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education.
Although it also offers academic diplomas, the school prepares public high school students for professional careers and/or conservatory study in dance, drama, the visual arts, vocal, instrumental music, and technical theatre.
Informally known as LaGuardia Arts, or LaGuardia High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is the only school among the nine specialized high schools in New York City that receives special funding from the New York State legislature through the Hecht Calandra Act.
The school currently has 2,519 students and 163 staff members, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:15.
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History
Adjacent to New York's Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, the building that is now home to LaGuardia Arts was opened in 1984 to bring together two "sister" arts high schools of the day, The High School of Music & Art (started by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in 1936) and the High School of Performing Arts, established in 1947. Prior to the building's completion in 1984, Music & Art (a/k/a "The Castle on the Hill") was located on Convent Avenue and 135th Street in what has since become part of City College (CCNY)'s South Campus; the building is home to A. Philip Randolph High School, which continues Music & Art's legacy of greatness in the arts. Performing Arts was located in midtown on 46th Street, both in Manhattan. Mayor La Guardia regarded Music & Art as the "most hopeful accomplishment" of his long administration as mayor.[1]
The film Fame (originally released in 1980, and remade in 2009) and the TV Series Fame both dramatized student life at the School of Performing Arts prior to its merger into LaGuardia High School, and an Off-Broadway show of Fame was produced in 2003–2004.
Alumni from LaGuardia and its two legacy schools, Music & Art and Performing Arts, are active in supporting the students and the school through scholarships and support for special programs, school events, and reunions held at the school and throughout the world. The school's alumni organization has a full-time executive director and offices at the school. It functions as an independent charitable organization organized under the laws of New York.
Curriculum
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Students at LaGuardia take a full academic course load while participating in conservatory-style arts concentration. Each student majors in one studio, choosing from among Dance, Drama, Art, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, and Technical Theatre.
Many graduates from LaGuardia continue their studies in universities or conservatories after graduation.[citation needed].
LaGuardia follows up to a 12 period day, including one lab per week, yet most students have a 9 or 10 period schedule. Periods are 40 minutes long with a 4 minute break between each period. Each student spends a minimum of three periods in studio classes (four for Dance and Drama majors, whose studios fulfill physical education requirements), and usually five to six periods in English, Math, Science, History, Language, and/or Physical Education, with one period for lunch. By state law, students are required to complete four years of English and History classes, three years of math and science, two years of foreign language, and four years of gym. Students who do not meet their studio requirements at graduation leave without a studio-endorsed diploma.[citation needed]
LaGuardia has offered an honors track to students entering after 2006, known as the DaVinci Program. DaVinci Scholars take more difficult classes in math and science and participate in a supplementary after-school enrichment program. Students not in the program may still take individual honors classes. LaGuardia also offers Advanced Placement courses in English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Italian languages, United States History, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, Art History and Music Theory.[citation needed]
Notable alumni
The following people are alumni of LaGuardia High School and its two legacy schools, The High School of Music & Art, and the School of Performing Arts High School.[2]:
Applications
Students are accepted based on auditions (Dance, Drama, Instrumental Music and Vocal Music) and portfolios (Art and Technical Theater). Their academic and attendance records are also scrutinized with most incoming students scoring at least a "3" - meeting standards - on their seventh grade standardized exams. Auditions are held in November and December.
It is difficult to be accepted into one of the specialized schools, considering the thousands of students who audition, from all 5 boroughs of New York. Those auditioning for LaGuardia must realize that chances of securing a spot depend upon the ratio between the number of spots and number of applicants within that specific department; in other words, some departments are harder to get into than others. In the instrumental department, auditions are separated even further; the child would be competing only against children who auditioned on the same instrument, and therefore it is harder to get in using very common instrument than on a less common one.
Sports
LaGuardia offers 21 different sports on the Varsity level. It is one of 8 schools in New York City which still runs the Gymnastics Program. During the 2007–2008 season, there were notable achievements including the Boys Volleyball Team winning their division undefeated for the first time since the program started. Seniors Nick Millner, Danny Su, Ivan Ng, and David Estioco led the team to a 12-0 record while defeating their main rival Stuyvesant High School two times.
Notes
- ^ Steigman, Benjamin: Accent on Talent — New York's High School of Music & Art Wayne State University Press, 1984 ISBN 0-686-87975-9
- ^ A more complete list is available at alumniandfriends.org
- ^ Stewart, Zan. "Born to swing: Nat Adderley Jr. returns to his roots", The Star-Ledger, September 10, 2009. Accessed September 10, 2009.
See also
- Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts alumni
- Professional Children's School
- Professional Performing Arts School
- School of American Ballet
External links
- Official school website created and supported by the Parents' Association
- Laguardia Cycling Association created and run by current students at the school
- Notable alumni of LaGuardia Arts and its two legacy schools: Music & Art and Performing Arts
- School information
- Website of The School of Performing Arts (1948–1984) Alumni
- Manhattan VIII 2008–2009 Standings
- Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is at coordinates 40°46′26″N 73°59′08″W / 40.77401°N 73.98556°WCoordinates: 40°46′26″N 73°59′08″W / 40.77401°N 73.98556°W
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