Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
| Frank Sinatra School of the Arts | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 35-12 35th Avenue Astoria, New York, 11106 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Founded | September, 2001 |
| Founder | Tony Bennett |
| Principal | Donna Finn |
| Number of students | ≈700 |
| School Color(s) | Blue and Orange |
| Website | http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/30/Q501/default.htm |
The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts is an arts high school in Astoria, Queens as part of the New York City Department of Education. The school, founded by Tony Bennett, is a major arts high school in New York City offering High School Diplomas in six arts majors including fine art, dance, vocal and instrumental music, drama, and film. Each studio has its own dedicated teachers, classrooms, ensembles, and performances/exhibitions where students may showcase their work to the public. All students must audition for admission.
The school holds one of the highest graduation rates of New York City public high schools. In 2009, 96% of the senior class graduated with 97% enrolled for college. The class of 2009 additionally completed 17,000 hours of community service while at FSSA. Graduates have gone on to study at such institutions as the Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, Queens College's Aaron Copland School of Music, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, School of Visual Arts, the Pratt Institute, Columbia University, and Cornell University. Students have also attended competitive pre-college summer arts programs at The Joffrey Ballet School, The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Parsons The New School for Design, Fashion Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon's Musical Theater.
[edit] History
FSSA first opened in 2001 and was founded by American singer/painter Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto, a public school teacher. It was named in honor of Bennett's late friend and colleague Frank Sinatra. The school originally opened in a two-story campus located in DeVry's Long Island City Campus building. In September 2009 the school moved to its permanent home located in Astoria, Queens at the Kaufman Astoria Studios Complex. The building, five stories tall and including several essential features that were absent from the original campus (such as a full Gymnasium and Concert Hall), was designed by the Polshek Partnership Architects firm.
When Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto established Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, they additionally founded a nonprofit organization named Exploring the Arts whose mission is to support arts education in public schools. ETA has provided support to FSSA as well as to other NYC public high schools with a focus on teaching the arts.
[edit] Academics
FSSA offers five Advanced Placement courses that include AP Physics, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History, and AP Spanish Language.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 40°45′22″N 73°55′31″W / 40.75611°N 73.92528°W
