Baltimore School for the Arts Graduates Next Generation of Artists

6/9/16

Accomplishments include a visual arts showcase at the U.S. Department of Education and the world premiere of PROSPECT HIGH: BROOKLYN in London

As the school year comes to an end, Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) celebrates all of the year’s successes including a 97 percent college acceptance rate for the graduating class and a Best High School in Baltimore City distinction from U.S. News & World Report.

“As the leading arts high school in the country, we want every BSA student to have great choices as they develop their future,” said BSA Director Dr. Chris Ford. “To get there we provide young people with intensive, pre-professional training in the arts combined with rigorous, college preparatory curriculum. Through innovative classes and programs coupled with dedicated and creative faculty, we are able to help continue moving our students and our school into a bright future.”

From the class of 2016, students received acceptance letters from some of the nation’s best universities including Harvard University, American Music and Dramatic Academy, Brubeck Institute, Johns Hopkins University, The Juilliard School, and Peabody Institute.

BSA’s 2015-2016 school year was filled with milestones including:

  • BSA ranked top 8% of America’s Best High Schools and #1 in Baltimore City by U.S. News and World Report.
  • BSA was selected as one of the participating schools in the U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 Student Art Exhibit Program. 50 works by visual arts students in grades 9-12 were featured in a two-month exhibit entitled The Development of the Young Artist.
  • The school’s annual Expressions fundraiser raised over half a million dollars to support BSA’s combined academic and arts education. The most ever!
  • For the third consecutive year, a BSA student won The Fred Lazarus IV Artscape prize (“The Fred”). The competitive program, which started three years ago, recognizes and encourages artistic talent in Baltimore City by awarding a Baltimore City school student artist.
  • BSA partnered with Showdown Theatre Arts in the UK to present the world premiere of PROSPECT HIGH: BROOKLYN. The play is in the midst of a Rolling World Premiere in 23 high school productions across the U.S.
  • The Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation granted BSA $44,000 to pilot a 6-week intensive summer film program that will afford students the opportunity to explore filmmaking. The pilot is allowing BSA to explore what a full-time video program might look like for the high school in addition to their current curriculum, which includes dance, visual arts, theatre and music.
  • BSA alumni continue to distinguish themselves in the arts both locally and nationally. Dancers Jacqueline Green and Keenan English are headliners at Alvin Ailey and Dance Theatre of Harlem, alumni Dontae Winslow and Nathan Bailey contributed to Beyonce’s “Lemonade” visual album and Kamille Upshaw was featured in the Grammy winning Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
  • BSA’s TWIGS program served nearly 700 second to eighth grade students in Baltimore City.
  • HelloTWIGS! program welcomed about 45 students from two elementary schools to attend a class in dance, visual arts or theatre, providing transportation and a meal for the participants.


“It’s been another incredible school year yet again where our faculty and students set, meet and surpass their goals,” said Ford. “We look forward to continuing the school’s successes for many years to come.”

Building on the success of this school year, BSA will continue to focus on all-school,

multi-disciplinary projects in the coming years as well as continuing to identify and

remove the barriers of participation at BSA through programs like Hello TWIGS.

Baltimore School for the Arts is a nationally recognized public arts high school that provides its students with intensive pre-professional training in the arts in conjunction with a rigorous academic curriculum. BSA graduates go on to the most selective arts and university programs nationwide and achieve prominence in theater, film, music, dance and visual arts. Additionally, BSA's highly acclaimed TWIGS program offers free, after-school arts instruction to 750 city elementary and middle school children from schools across Baltimore, as well as other outreach initiatives to thousands more. Founded in 1979, the school is an integral and vibrant part of Baltimore's educational and cultural communities.