Brooklyn High School of the Arts
2012-2016
School Description
"Brooklyn High School of the Arts offers a full curriculum aligned to the new standards of education. Learning is interdisciplinary with knowledge gained in one subject area connected to learning across all subject areas. Appropriate use of technology supporting research and independent study is provided and its use encouraged. The mission of Brooklyn High School of the Arts is to have the participation of the entire educational community. To provide and support a comprehensive, rigorous, arts-oriented curriculum that meets New York State and New York City standards. At the same time, this curriculum will encourage and nurture our youth to use their works and expressions, their rhythms and sounds, their impressions and designs, their movements and actions for fulfilling their potential, their dreams and aspirations."
Contact Information
Website: www.brooklynhsarts.org
Principal: Margaret Lacey-Berman- mlacey@schools.nyc.gov
Additional ETA Contact: Daniel Vecchiano, Assistant Principal of the Arts- dvecchi@schools.nyc.gov;
Jill Coon, theatre teacher- jcoon@schools.nyc.gov
Four-Year Plan Goals
Goal One: To heighten the professionalism of BHSA’s productions through improvements and upgrades of performance and rehearsal resources.
Goal Two: To establish a musical theater class that informs recruitment for the BHSA student population, produces a yearly spring musical theater performance and allows for collaborations between BHSA teachers.
Approach
Goal One: Heightening the professionalism of performance and rehearsal spaces has involved using most of the material purchase allowance of $7500 per year to upgrade the performance and rehearsal spaces- like purchasing sound and lighting equipment for the auditorium, building out the dressing rooms and a black box theater and acquiring new rehearsal resources for all performing arts departments.
Goal Two: In order to build out the musical theater class, the school built its internal capacity to produce the musical through professional development sessions in various aspects of musical theater productions as well as student workshops that also served as professional development for the theatre teachers. The effort incorporated staff across multiple performing arts disciplines (as well as some academic teachers with artistic talent) to make the musical the primary production for the school year. Additional staff received professional development and per session for extra time spent collaborating with the theatre department during production time. ETA support was also used for planning and curriculum mapping workshops for the theatre teacher.
ARTS PARTNERSHIPS
Goal Two: Eric Mark Olsen from Arts Connection worked closely with BHSA theatre teacher, Jill Coon on several aspects of the production of each musical including professional development sessions and student workshops.
Sustainability Plan
Goal One: To best protect and maintain the equipment, it will be safely stored and locked when possible. School leadership has come to prioritize equipment maintenance/purchase costs in the regular DOE budget in order to supplement purchases.
Goal Two: By providing professional development, it ensures that the knowledge is within the building and capacity is built in case any teacher leaves. Through planning meetings and meetings among the school leadership, the curriculum was mapped out and placed in the software therefore archiving the work being done for continued use.