Tacoma School of the Arts

Infobox HighSchool (American)
name = Tacoma School of the Arts


established = 2001
type = Visual and Performing Arts School
principal = Jon Ketler
Paul Kelly
city = Tacoma
state = Washington
country = USA
district = Tacoma Public Schools
students =
teams =
free =

The Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA or TSOTA) is the only arts school in the greater Tacoma, Washington area. SOTA accepts students for their last three years of high school only. Students must complete the 9th grade at another high school. SOTA's student capacity is 450 students, a number which the school reached by 2007. [ [http://www.archachieve.org/RealWorld2/SOTA/index.html Tacoma School of the Arts - Tacoma, WA] ] SOTA was established in the fall of 2001, with help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. [Allen, Kent - [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/charities/articles/8stone.htm The Gatekeeper] , "U.S. News & World Report"] Classes are housed in multiple venues across downtown Tacoma, in buildings that have historically served many purposes-- including a department store, a music store, and a dance studio. [ [http://www.goodsmallschools.org/resources/SOTA_School_Information.pdf Tacoma School of the Arts (TSOTA)] ]

tudents

SOTA tries to allow students to foster responsibility. To this goal, many SOTA projects are student-run, including some aspects of the school's administration.

Infobox Theatre
name = SOTA Theatre


image_size =
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address = 1118 Commerce Street [ [http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma-wa/venues/show/9002-sota-theatre Tacoma venues: SOTA Theatre] , "The News Tribune"]
city = Tacoma
country = USA
designation =
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owner = Tacoma School of the Arts
capacity =
type =
opened = 2001
yearsactive =
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Many Performing Arts projects are left up to students. Students have directed theatrical productions including "The Glass Menagerie" (dir. Kathryn Robinson, 2007) and "The Last of the Darling Brent Girls", the latter also written by a student (dir. Kaylie Rainer, written by Roland C. Carette-Meyers, 2007). [ [http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/schools/hs/sota/calendar.htm?event=677659 Tacoma School of the Arts - Events] ] All productions, most directed by teachers, star only SOTA students-- exceptions are rare, such as "The Trojan Women" casting a very young non-student in the silent role of the toddler Astyanax (performed in autumn 2007).

While students are expected to take a wide variety of classes, most specialize in one department, or "discipline". Departments offered include those of the Visual Arts (photography, sculpture, graphic design, film, drawing, and painting) and those of the Performing Arts (songwriting and audio recording, instrumental music conservatory, vocal music, dance, and technical theatre). Some students may announce a "renaissance" major where they take classes from all the disciplines. SOTA does not receive any funding to teach acting, due to the district's perception that the employment rate for actors is too low to justify training them; [U.S. Department of Labor - [http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos093.htm Actors, Producers, and Directors] (18 December 2007)] there is an Actor's Studio class at SOTA, however, and students, as stated above, perform in all SOTA theatrical productions, as well as many of the film productions.

Faculty and Staff

SOTA teachers are some of the best in the area. They are passionate about their subjects, and are able to teach students a variety of subjects in some non-traditional ways. Examples include a class planned to premiere in fall 2008, Humanities Through Movement, to combine the teaching of the English language, American History, and modern dance.

Local artists are also hired by the school to teach their art forms. Included in this innovative "Artist in Residence" program are the Audio Recording and Jazz Combo classes. Many of these adjunct artists teach only part-time, though some teach full-time.

FIRST Robotics Competition

In 2008, SOTA created its own FRC team with the help of Team 360 from Bellarmine Preparatory School. They were Team 2557, SOTA Bots, with the robot they created known fondly as the SOTA Bot. The SOTA Bot came in second and won Rookie of the Year in the FIRST Microsoft Seattle Regional [Fontaine, Scott - [http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/316108.html School of the Arts headed to national robot competition] , "The News Tribune" (23 March 2008)] and went on to get 22nd place in their division in the Atlanta International Competition. [Fontaine, Scott - [http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/street/2008/04/01/sota_robotics_team_prepares_for_national SOTA robotics team prepares for national competition] , "The News Tribune" (1 April 2008)]

Notable People

In Popular Culture

Several SOTA buildings were used in the film "10 Things I Hate About You"; the guitar store in the film is now part of the SOTA music department, as well as Club SOTA, [ [http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma-wa/venues/show/9309-club-sota Venues: Club SOTA] , "The News Tribune"] an all-ages club hosted by the school. [Driscoll, Matt - [http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/article/1866 Pay to play - no way] , "Weekly Volcano" (28 February 2008)]

External links

* [http://www.sotabot.com Official SOTA Bot website]
* [http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/schools/hs/sota/ School of the Arts] at the Tacoma Public Schools Site

References