The Academy for Academics and Arts is committed to providing a well rounded, student-centered, arts-integrated, academic focused curriculum designed to challenge, empower, and prepare students for the 21st century.
The unique program components that support the mission of The Academy for Academics and Arts are:
Curriculum and Instruction
- Flexible school-wide and class scheduling to accommodate magnet theme and collaboration between programs and with the Lee High School Creative and Performing Arts school.
- School-wide arts integration within a conceptual framework to facilitate collaboration across content areas and vertical alignment in academics, arts and non-art electives.
- All elementary students explore the arts by participating in the standards-based classes a minimum of once weekly in the following disciplines: dance, music, visual art, and drama (adding orchestral strings in 2nd grade).
- All middle school students have the opportunity to participate in daily standards-based arts classes by selecting a major focus area from at least one discipline from the following: dance, vocal and orchestral music, creative writing, drama, stagecraft and design, visual arts, and new media arts.
- All middle school students have the opportunity to supplement their main focus area in the arts with electives from the other areas.
- Arts curriculum mapping to provide continuous progress and portfolio development meet prerequisite requirements to enter Lee High School Creative and Performing Arts Magnet.
- Field trips to observe, participate, and critique workshops, rehearsals, performances, and exhibitions from other schools and artists as well as participate in master classes in the different arts disciplines.
- Flexible curriculum pacing for standards-embedded instruction to accommodate performance/exhibition scheduling.
- Master classes taught by guest artists in all disciplines.
- Tolerance and celebration of diversity through exploration of cultural forms and styles in the arts and through arts integration.
- Academic and arts classes are given priority in development of the school’s master schedule.
- All additional programs such as GATE, PLTW, and other district programs integrate the arts within a conceptual framework to preserve unique magnet curriculum.
- Teachers and students redefine technology for use in the arts.
Staff
- Qualified and certified arts teachers assigned solely to The Academy for Academics and Arts and Lee High School Performing and Creative Arts.
- The role of the guidance counselor includes advising students for magnet course selection.
- All teachers actively participate in and implement training from on and off-site training in all arts areas to facilitate arts integration in addition to specific training in arts integration.
- All teachers actively participate and implement training from on-going professional development in research-based best practices for diverse learners with built-in planning/collaboration time.
- Collaborative teaching and curriculum design to meet unique needs of magnet theme across content areas, arts programs, within the arts community, and with Lee High School Creative and Performing Arts.
- All teachers are expected to work as artists in their fields: performing, publishing, creating, collaborating, and innovating with best practices, serving as a resource for the school, the district, and around the state/region.
- All teachers dedicated to the magnet theme and support of building a collaborative, tolerant and equitable, diverse community for creative and intellectual risk-taking and to working within a flexible, non-traditional school setting.
- All teachers and administrators dedicated to implementation of national standards for magnet schools.
