- Savannah Arts Academy (SAA) is the first dedicated performing and visual arts school in Savannah, Georgia. It is part of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools. Savannah Arts Academy was granted charter school status and the former Savannah High School building in July 1998, and opened in August of the same year. In 1998, SAA started with 397 students.
- As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 668 students and 50.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.3.
- Academics
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The school offers classes up to the AP, or college level.
- Communication Arts
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The Communication Arts Department offers intensive courses related to Information Technology and Broadcast/Video Production. As freshmen, students study basic computer applications and gain knowledge of the communication system by participating in a variety of activities, problems, and settings. Students work in information technology, software systems management, operating systems, data communications, the Internet, digital media production, and web design. Broadcast and video production courses provide advanced training in video production techniques, including program production, editing, lighting, and graphics. Students in Communication Arts also have the opportunity to take Journalism I and II, which are the newspaper staff, and Journalism III and IV, which are yearbook staff.
- Dance
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The Dance Department students take technical training in ballet and modern, plus additional training in jazz, if interested. Students engage in two academic dance courses -- one year of dance history and one year of dance composition. The department traditionally performs in two large productions annually with dance works created by faculty, students and guest artists. Choreography is produced both in class and in afternoon rehearsals. There are also multiple opportunities for performing in venues from the fall Student Choreography Concerts to the large spring musical production, as well as touring local area schools and events. Each year interested dance students may attend the National High School Dance Festival and have the opportunity to work with local and national guest artists throughout the school year.
- Music
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The Music Department provides instruction in winds, strings, percussion, piano and vocal music. Ensembles include String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Mixed Choruses, Men’s Choir, and Women’s Choir. There are a total of seven choruses at Savannah Arts Academy. These include the SAA Chorale, Men's Choir, Skylarks, Women's Cantabile, Nova Singers, Women's Chamber/Honor Choir, and Mixed Chamber/Honor Choir. The program through the years has garnered every award available to it through the Georgia Music Educators Association.
- Students who graduate from the program, electing to pursue music in higher education, have been awarded scholarships to the leading institutions in the country including Indiana University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
- Theatre Arts
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The Theatre Arts Department offers theatre education. Its mission is to foster talent and develop creativity through professional training and a wide variety of courses including: Drama Fundamentals, Acting I & II, Technical Theatre I & II, Acting III, Theatre History, Musical Theatre I & II, Technical Theatre III, a design course, and Advanced Drama, a performance group. Students have the opportunity to practice the skills learned in the classroom through after school productions, competitions and festivals. It holds two performances per year, a musical in the fall and play in the spring.
- Visual Arts
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The visual arts department offers Art History and Criticism, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Fibers, Ceramics, Pottery, and AP Studio Art.
- Awards and recognition
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During the 2006-07 school year, Savannah Arts Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.
- Other recognition includes:
- Awarded "Pay for Performance" by the State Board of Education.
- SAT score average exceeds the state and national average.
- Member of International Network of Performing and Visual Arts Schools.
- #1 in the state on the GHSGT passage rate: 100% in Writing, English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science for the second year in a row. They were the first, and to date only, school in the history of the Savannah School System to achieve 100% passage in every area.
- Voted "Best Public School" by the readers of Connect Savannah.
- 90% of graduates are HOPE Scholarship eligible. Of the 2006 graduating class, all received the HOPE Scholarship.
- Received a "Superior School" commendation from the State School Superintendent.
- Largest number of Governor's Honors Program finalists (twelve) in the district for the 2005-06 school year.
- Thirteen students recognized by the College Board as 2004 AP Scholars, AP Scholars with Honors, or AP Scholars with Distinction for their excellent achievements on the AP Exams.
- SAA received Gold and Silver at the All-State Festival of Art & Design. Sixteen SAA student artists were chosen to go to the Georgia All-State Festival of Art and Design at Brenau University.
- SAA students and faculty have performed in China and London.
- Many of SAA's Odyssey of the Mind teams have competed at the World Finals level. In 2006, the school's team for the problem "The Jungle Bloke" received first place in their division at the World level.
- SAA won the Governor's Cup in 2008, a trophy awarded for having the highest SAT scores in the state.
- History
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The Savannah Arts Academy building is located on a site that was originally planned as a luxury tourist hotel called the Hotel Georgia. The developers envisioned the Hotel Georgia to "be a palace outside and inside. The grounds will be a dream of beauty." The hotel was to be located at the apex of the Chatham Crescent, a long, sweeping crescent-shaped drive.
- Work began on the hotel on August 15, 1912, but due to litigation, steel shortages, funding problems and architectural changes, the foundation sat unfinished for about 20 years.
- The Works Progress Administration, in the midst of the Great Depression, expressed interest in the site for use as the new Savannah High School. Permits were granted, construction began, and Savannah High School was dedicated on June 15, 1937.
- After 61 years on Washington Avenue, Savannah High School classes were moved to a new building on Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving the structure available for the newly formed Savannah Arts Academy for the school year beginning August 1998.
- Admission
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Admission to Savannah Arts Academy requires an 80% or greater overall academic average in the previous year of schooling, as well as satisfactory marks in conduct.Incoming students are also required to audition for their chosen arts major, which can range from an on-the-spot demonstration (music, theatre and dance) to creation of a portfolio (visual and communication arts).
- Administration
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Mrs. Mary Arbee served as the first principal of SAA. Hired in August 1998, she co-wrote the charter of the school and organized the first school council. Mrs. Arbee assisted in hiring the first faculty and staff who auditioned the first students. The following year, Mrs. Arbee resigned and relocated.
- Mrs. Beverly Oliver came to SAA to serve as interim principal until the arrival of Mrs. Marcia Clanton from Hubert Middle School in February 2000. In March 2006, Mrs. Clanton was promoted to executive director of all high schools in Savannah and was replaced by SAA administrator Mrs. Odessa Richards.
- SAA has had three other assistant principals in its history, Mr. David Marshall, Mr. Travis Cowart, and Mrs. Odessa Richards, the current principal.
- Performance facilities
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- John Varnedoe Theatre
The main theatre located at the front of the building was redone with the school-wide renovation, supplying a large stage, cloth theatre chairs, new carpeting, and wing space. -
- The Black Box Theatre,
A theatre and communications classroom. -
- The Performance Hall
Used for venues such as Beta Induction and lectures. - Annual performances
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The theatre shows that occur each year stick mainly to this schedule:
- The first show is always "Works in Progress", a reader's theatre production directed by Mrs. Verdis. The plays featured in the show are winners of a contest held in the Spring of the last school year.
- The Fall show is usually a straight play (though this was diverted from in 2005's "Leader of the Pack" starring Aaren Keith and Jack Webber). Until the departure of Mr. Verdis in the 07-08 school year, "The 1940s Radio Show" was performed in the second quarter.
- In the second semester, the first show is always "A Night of One Acts". The way that the one-acts were staged changed drastically from the 2005-2006 school year to the 2006-2007 school year. Previously, students were allowed to pick their play, their cast, and their design, however, after a controversy over content in one of the plays arose, the productions became a class-based assignment, with teacher oversight.
- After the Night of One Acts, in the deep Spring, the musical is performed. A culmination of all of the academy's majors come together to perform the talents they have added onto during the year. Previous musicals include, "Once Upon a Mattress", "Leader of the Pack", "The Music Man", "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown", "Anything Goes", and "Fiddler on the Roof".
- Student activities
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Savannah Arts holds school-related events, performances, student clubs, and sports teams.
- Clubs
- Beta Club
- Chess Club
- Christian Fellowship Club
- Creative Writing Guild
- Dance Honor Society
- FBLA
- FEA
- French National Honor Society
- International Thespian Society
- Japanese Language and Culture Club
- Junior State of America (JSA)
- Making a Difference Club (M.A.D.)
- Students Against Destructive Decisions [1]
- Math Team
- Mock Trial
- Model UN
- National Honor Society
- National Art Honor Society
- Odyssey of the Mind
- Relay For Life
- Science Club
- Spanish National Honor Society
- Tri-M Music Honor Society
- Annual competitions
- Armstrong Atlantic Computing Quiz Bowl
- Math Team
- Mock Trial
- Model UN
- Athletics
- Cross-Country/Track
- Golf
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Hockey
- Wrestling
- Notable alumni
- Notes
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A.2008 District Teacher of the Year
- External links
- Official web page
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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