Tacoma School of the Arts
| Tacoma School of the Arts | |
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| Location | |
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Tacoma, Washington United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Visual and Performing Arts School |
| Established | 2001 |
| School district | Tacoma Public Schools |
| Principal | Jon Ketler Paul Kelly |
| Enrollment | Roughly 60% of applicants |
| Number of students | Around 600 (20% out of district) |
| Schedule | Block |
| Campus | Urban/open |
| Website | tsota.org |
| Address | 1102 S. A Street, Suite 200 Tacoma, WA 98402 = Tacoma United States |
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| Owner | Tacoma School of the Arts |
| Type | Urban |
| Capacity | ≈500 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Architect | McGranahan Architects |
The Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA or TSOTA) is the only arts school in the greater Tacoma, Washington area. SOTA historically only housed grades 10 through 12, but beginning in the 2012 school year, it began admitting students in the 9th grade as well. SOTA's student capacity is around 600 students. SOTA was established in the fall of 2001, with help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 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. SOTA is a "rigorous, interdisciplinary, urban arts education."
SOTA is known for its rigorous arts and academic programs, and students are welcome to take classes at Tacoma's Science and Math Institute at Point Defiance park. SOTA and SAMi also offer University of Washington Credits through multiple classes and beginning in 2014 offer over 20 College in the High School classes for credit through Tacoma Community College. Interdisciplinary study between the arts and academics are a strong focus at SOTA. Students are presented with multiple opportunities to travel, including service and study tours, as well as internships and volunteer opportunities. The school runs seamlessly in the community taking classes in multiple venues.
SOTA was one of three Washington state school winners of the inaugural state Schools of Excellence in Arts Education Award, part of the national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Awards. Shortly after, SOTA was one of only four schools in the inaugural year to win at the national level.
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.
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). 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).
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Wikipedia