- San Francisco School of the Arts
-
San Francisco School of the Arts 
Location 555 Portola Drive
San Francisco, California 94131Information Principal Carmelo Sgarlato Faculty 80 Enrollment about 600 Campus Urban Teams departmental rivalries Website [1] Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts (S.O.T.A.) is a public high school in San Francisco, California, in the United States. S.O.T.A. ranked by Newsweek's Jay Mathews Challenge Index as the best high school in the United States in 2007.[1]
In 2010, the school was renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in honor of Ruth Asawa.[2] In 2011, the school was recognized as a "California Distinguished School" by the California Department of Education as one of the state's most exemplary and inspiring public schools, demonstrating significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap among its students.[3]
S.O.T.A. is known as having one of the more ethnically diverse student populations in the city.[4] S.O.T.A. offers comprehensive four-year artistic programs. To be admitted, a student is required to pass an audition in the chosen art discipline.
Contents
History
For many years, Ruth Asawa and others campaigned to start a public high school in San Francisco devoted to the arts. At its inception in 1982, S.O.T.A. was a part of J. Eugene McAteer High School and located at its present site on Portola Drive. In 1992, the school moved to a former elementary school at 700 Font Boulevard near San Francisco State University. In 2002, McAteer High School was dissolved, and S.O.T.A. was offered the site. The S.O.T.A. community elected to make this an interim move, and in 2005 a new school, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, was founded on the S.O.T.A. campus.
S.O.T.A. has been a subject of discontent with the San Francisco Green Party, particularly with the Green members of the San Francisco Board of Education. Matt Gonzalez, a San Francisco Green Party leader, stated in his mayoral campaign platform[5] that "passing an audition is a hurdle that many students can’t surmount[..]the school district must ensure a 'pipeline' through the elementary and middle schools that will guarantee much higher rates of low income minority representation at S.O.T.A."
At a School Board meeting in December 2005, Green board member Mark Sanchez, asserting that S.O.T.A. did not make adequate use of the McAteer campus,[6] proposed moving S.O.T.A. to "empty classrooms in a middle school in the Mission or Excelsior district" in order to lease the campus and thus tighten the district's budget gap.[7] Proponents of S.O.T.A. counter that Sanchez's proposal amounts to the District "becom(ing) landlords at the expense of our students," and that with the Academy of Arts and Sciences bringing the number of students on the campus to 1,000 once it has reached peak capacity, along with the many SFUSD offices located on S.O.T.A.'s campus, it is completely inaccurate to say that this is an underutilized campus."
The Departments
All of the students attending S.O.T.A. must audition into a specific discipline. At the end of Sophomore year, students must re-audition for a spot in their department, and there is a possibility that the student will not be invited to continue in that discipline. All together there are 10 different programs, or Departments.
1. Visual Arts: The visual arts department specializes in painting, drawing, and sculpting works of art. Students learn such art-related subjects as the History of Art, Intro to Sculpting, and 3D and Linear Perspective. There are usually several art galleries a year, showcasing the work of the many talented students in the Visual Arts department. The walls of S.O.T.A. show off the beautiful paintings Visual Art students have painted.
2. Theatre: At nearly 80 students, the Theatre department at S.O.T.A is one of the largest in school, boasting alumni such as Margaret Cho, Sam Rockwell, and Aisha Tyler. Since 1990 the department has been overseen by Phillip Rayher and has grown into one of the most celebrated programs at S.O.T.A. Interested students must go through a rigorous two day audition before being accepted in, and many who make through Freshman year are gone by Senior year due to the "Sophomore Cut" and other more benign reasons. The department is split into four groups which are: Basic, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, and Advanced. These students talk to themselves in the halls are are taught there art through rigorus, aggressive training.
They put on nearly a dozen shows during the year, all of which are performed in the "Drama Studio", (with the exception of "Shakespeare Night" which is performed in the main auditorium) a 99 seat house with a black modified thrust stage and two "voms" from which the actors enter and exit along with the two traditional "wings" . Some of the department's shows are written by students, some are showcases, and some are traditional plays such as "Peer Ghent" and "Crimes Of The Heart".
Every day students have several separate "classes" including traditional things like Acting, Movement, Playwriting, Voice, Directing, and Clowning, along with a few experimental classes such as Afro-Haitian Dance, and Asian Theatre. This is with the exception of "Boot Camp", being roughly the first six weeks of the year, during which time the incoming Freshmen are "oriented" to the department and taught some basic Theatre games. Returning students present their "Summer Scenes" which are handed out to the Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors at the end of each year, and a contemporary monologue which was also developed over the summer.
3. Theatre Tech: In Theatre Tech, students learn the arts of scenography and stagecraft. Students work daily with professional artists-in-residence, and have the opportunity to design and create costumes, props, and sets; stage manage a show; and design and implement sound, lighting, and rigging. In addition to doing design and stagecraft for SOTA's annual musical theatre production, the students of Theatre Tech also create sets and costumes for many student productions throughout the Bay Area. They also assist SOTA's other departments by providing technical assistance and stage crew for their performances. The Theatre Tech department has won numerous awards over the years at the Ohlone College High School Theatre Festival[8].
4. Media: One of the smaller departments, Media is a place for filmmakers, photographers, writers, and actors. Different media classes include Art of Editing, Writing Scripts and Treatments, A.P. Filmmaking, and Soundstage. The department host two events a year, called "Media Nights", that generally have the best turn-out of all discipline events.
5. Dance: One of the most competitive disciplines, as well as one of the larger ones, Dance is taught by an immensely talented former dancer, Elvia Marta who was one of the founding teachers of S.O.T.A. Dancers participate in many shows throughout the year, and journey into the heart of San Francisco five times a week for classes at a professional studio.
6. Creative Writing: Another of the small departments, Creative Writing is known for their talented students and excellent bodies of writing. The head of this department Heather Woodward is also the 9th grade honors English teacher. They host several Creative Writing shows in which the students read their best works to an audience.
7. Vocal: A rather large discipline, Vocal is home to some of the most talented teenage vocalists in San Francisco, instructed by Todd Wedge. Students learn songs and pronunciations in German, French, Italian, and English. They also learn to play the piano, as to improve their vocal abilities through pitch, rhythm, and different levels of theory. For the more developed singers, students are offered to sing in Chamber Choral Group, in which they work on more sophisticated songs. They have several shows a year. Many vocalists also take part in many of S.O.T.A's phenomenal productions.
8. Orchestra: This department is for students with talent in violin, viola, cello, double, and Baroque instruments such as the viola da gamba. The department is currently run by Matt Cmiel. Students are required to play in chamber groups, such as a quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello) or quintet (two violins, a viola, a cello, and a double bass), the two most common groups.
9. Band: This department is for students with talent in French Horn, Guitar, Trumpet, Trombone, Drums, Flute, Clarinet, Piccolo, Oboe, Saxophone, Percussion, and Bassoon, taught by Stephen Hendee, the head of Instrumental Music (Orchestra and Band). Students can join the Guitar program, which is a division of band. To do so, one must audition into the Band program with guitar.
10. Piano: The smallest of all departments at S.O.T.A. as well as the most difficult to get into, taught by Ava Soifer. Every Tuesday the students have a class called "Performance Class," where students must perform solos and duets while their peers write critiques. Every Wednesday the students take Music Theory classes, including A.P. Theory and Composition for the more advanced pianists. Pianists also have weekly solo and duet coachings with the teacher, Ava Soifer, where they perform for her and are graded. Pianists have Improvisation class for 16 Fridays a year, where they are divided into two classes and work on making up music on the spot. All pianists must accompany singers at "Lab" once a week and at lunchtimes. Each pianist is usually responsible for accompanying 3–7 singers each grading period.
The Academy
A new high school, known as the Academy of Arts and Sciences, opened on the S.O.T.A. campus in the 2005–2006 school year, in part because of complaints that S.O.T.A.'s 650 students were not using the S.O.T.A. campus to its full potential (complaints that ignored the many SFUSD administrative offices located at S.O.T.A.). The Academy admits students through the normal SFUSD high school admissions process, rather than an audition process like S.O.T.A. Academy students receive instruction in the arts, but not as focused or as emphasized as that given to S.O.T.A. students. The Academy has become a popular high school for students interested in the arts who have not met the S.O.T.A. audition requirements, including students who hope to apply for admission to S.O.T.A. later in high school. S.O.T.A. and the Academy are slowly but surely developing into a tight ensemble of artistic development.
Admissions
To enter S.O.T.A. prospective students must pass a rigorous audition into one of S.O.T.A. ten disciplines. The audition process varies between disciplines, and may change from year to year. Some departments, such as Visual Arts, Tech, and Creative Writing require students to bring a portfolio of their work to be presented before a panel of judges. The Media department requires you to bring in a short film, or a story board. Theatre, Dance, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music departments require live performances by prospective students as part of their auditions. More information concerning admissions is in the S.O.T.A. website.
Athletics
S.O.T.A. does not have an athletics program, but S.O.T.A. students are allowed to join teams of other public high schools or outside leagues. However, all students must fulfill the district-mandated requirement of 4 semesters of physical education. However, this is not restricted to taking a P.E. course at a school.
Notable alumni
- Aya Cash, actress
- Margaret Cho, comedian, author, and actress
- Tommy Guerrero, professional skateboarder and musician
- Melody Lacayanga, dancer
- Robert Henry Johnson, dancer
- Tiago Nunez, techno dj
- Yuri Lane, beatboxer
- Sam Rockwell, actor
- Salvador Santana, Latin musician and son of Carlos Santana
- Jesse Thorn, radio host
- Aisha Tyler, actress and comedian
- Fatboi AKA LaDamon Douglas, Music Producer, Actor
External links
References
- ^ Newsweek: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools
- ^ Jill Tucker; " S.F. school board votes to send pink out slips. San Francisco Chronicle; February 24, 2010.
- ^ http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/disting2011.asp
- ^ http://orb.sfusd.edu/profile/prfl-815.htm
- ^ mattgonzalez.com. mattgonzalez.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-05.
- ^ SAN FRANCISCO / Board votes to close Treasure Island school. Sfgate.com (2005-12-06). Retrieved on 2011-09-05.
- ^ Moving the School for the Arts is the wrong idea at the wrong time. Sfgate.com (2006-01-18). Retrieved on 2011-09-05.
- ^ http://www.ohlone.edu/instr/theatredance/hstheatre.html
Categories:- High schools in San Francisco, California
- Magnet schools in California
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