Arizona School for the Arts is a public charter school for 5th—12th grade that inspires creative thinkers and leaders by providing an innovative concentration in college preparation informed by the performing arts.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Arizona School for the Arts for your student’s educational experience! Your involvement in your student’s education and in our ASA community is crucial to their success, and we have much appreciation for all that you do to explore and secure the best school for your student. As you learn more about our school, we believe you’ll find ASA to be a place where your student can strike the perfect balance between pursuing academic growth and creative expression!
ASA has been serving the Phoenix-metro community for almost 30 years, providing students with an academically rigorous and arts-excellent experience. Our teachers are truly some of the best, and they strive to deliver high-quality, student-centered, engaging learning experiences that aim to build confidence, nurture curiosity and critical thinking, and foster strong partnerships among our students and families. The result? A truly unique and highly motivated generation of creative thinkers, leaders, performing artists, and civic-minded individuals who are distinctive when applying to prestigious colleges or pursuing ambitious endeavors.
We are excited about your interest in Arizona School for the Arts!
nurturing a vibrant and supportive community
ASA CORE VALUES
At ASA, we lead, teach, learn, and perform with our CORE VALUES to nurture a vibrant and supportive ASA community. We do this by centering our Community, showing up with Courage, leaning into Curiosity, driving with Creativity, and engaging with Care.
To be an ASA community member, you must value and celebrate the vast diversity that exists on our campus, take academic and artistic risks, express interest in learning and dialogue, chart new paths and seek creative solutions, recognize the needs of others, and offer support.
ASA EQUITY STATEMENT
We believe “the arts enlarge the field of freedom”*. Our continuing work at Arizona School for the Arts is to acknowledge and reject oppression in all its forms so that every student has full access to education that nurtures the development of their authentic selves. This work is dependent on every community member feeling safe, especially when learning, teaching, and creating. How do we make this happen?
*Reflections on Freedom and Art” by W. H. Auden is reprinted in the UNESCO Courier by permission of the Estate of W. H. Auden. Reflections on freedom and art.
DECLARATION OF AN ASA STUDENT AND GRADUATE
inspiring scholars who are artistically-driven
We offer a robust academic curriculum with college preparatory (standard and honors track), advanced placement (AP), and college credit courses that are informed by the performing arts. We will challenge your student to the high academic expectations we set through intensive college-preparatory coursework designed to be collaborative, student-centered, and structured around project-based assignments. Middle School and high school students attend approximately 5 hours of academic classes (in addition to 2 – 3 hours of performing arts instruction) daily. Additionally, we offer opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school through a dual-enrollment partnership with Maricopa County Community Colleges, allowing them to take college-credit-eligible classes on our campus. Students can also take Advanced Placement classes and earn college credit by successfully completing AP tests. These options reflect our deep commitment to preparing students for the academic demands of college, university, and conservatory.
OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMIC PROGRAM
OUR HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC PROGRAM
One of the foundational academic experiences is to provide our students with specialized learning opportunities to become experts in curricular themes. Starting in 5th grade, students participate in a yearly project called the Third Quarter Presentation (3QP). This project spans a whole quarter and is required for students in grades 5 through 12. For seniors, this project culminates as their Capstone Project.
The 3QP process begins with your student selecting a topic and developing a thesis and research question. Then, they select and evaluate resources, analyze research, and organize the information around their main questions. Throughout these projects, your student will increasingly build research and communication skills, create visual presentations, and gain confidence in presenting to a panel of teachers, parents, and administrators.
Many ASA alumni say that the 3QP is the most formative and important experience during their time at ASA. It’s truly a game-changer in preparing students for post-secondary study and setting them apart from others in high-stakes college and/or conservatory admissions.
infusing our world with creativity and a passion for the arts
Performing arts are a fundamental part of each student’s complete education at ASA. We believe that performing arts education can positively impact the developing brain and an individual’s overall well-being, and ASA’s immersive, hands-on approach helps students develop their artistry, confidence, collaboration, creativity, and discipline, both on and off the stage. Our faculty, with extensive professional experience and knowledge, provide high-quality instruction in performing arts classes organized by skill level rather than grade to encourage the most advanced and beginning levels of performing arts learning. ASA students are immersed in a minimum of 2 hours of each school day in music, dance, and/or theatre. In their junior year, students choose a specific discipline to focus on. Seniors have the opportunity to apply for the State of Arizona Seal of Arts Proficiency, as well as teaching assistant courses.
ASA students are highly motivated and driven to flourish in the performing arts. Throughout the year, they participate in more than 100 curricular performances and regional and state festivals. These performance opportunities will allow your student to express their creativity, hone their skills as performers, and allow them — and the community — to joyfully experience a life enriched by the performing arts!
Department Series
Department Series Performances powerfully demonstrate how students grow and progress artistically each academic semester. The series includes music, dance, and theatre performances, allowing for a wide range of artistic expression.
Signature Series
Signature Series Performances highlight advanced student talent in the performing arts, with high production quality, attention to detail, and collaboration across arts disciplines. Attendees can expect to be impressed and moved by the incredible performances and leave with a newfound appreciation for the performing arts!
Showcase
Showcase is an annual year-end tradition that brings together the entire ASA community and champions of education and the performing arts! The event is a school fundraiser filled with performances from the majority of our students, who showcase their skills through solo and ensemble acts in music, dance, and theatre. The student-devised works that are displayed provide a unique insight into the creative minds of our youth, and the academic and club installations showcase the accomplishments, passion, and dedication of our students in various fields.
2024 – 2025 Performance Calendar
We actively engage with our local community to enrich our students’ educational experiences. We partner with renowned arts organizations, colleges, and universities to provide unique opportunities for our learners. Through these collaborative efforts, our students gain invaluable real-world insights, access to industry professionals, and the chance to showcase their talents beyond the classroom walls.
setting the stage for success
ASA firmly believes that preparing for college can and should begin in middle school. This is why we require a College Readiness & Life Skills Seminar in our middle school curriculum. This course, formerly known as Life Skills, is a foundational class that aims to help your middle student with academic skills and communication tools and practices that they will use throughout their lives. Through a hands-on approach, your student will learn crucial skills and habits like time management, organization, project planning, and a full range of additional executive functioning skills. They will also learn how to communicate and integrate into an academic world for high school and college preparedness. Further, they will explore different careers and prepare for a high school experience culminating in their application to college, university, or conservatory with the support of ASA’s college counselor.
In a student-led process, the college counselor provides personalized guidance and support to help students explore their ambitions, abilities, and interests to determine the best path for post-secondary education success. While available to answer questions and provide resources to all ASA high school students, the formal college application process begins in the fall of junior year. Throughout this period, the college counselor offers comprehensive counseling services to assist students and their families through the college and/or conservatory application process. The resources cover various topics, including self-assessment, time management, standardized testing, college selection, applications, interview guidance, and financial aid/scholarships. These interactions continue throughout the student’s senior year.
This program is designed for students who plan to pursue a career in the performing arts and major in their specific area of concentration in higher education institutions. It is intended to support students through the college application process, including regular college applications as well as applications to specific arts schools. The program also helps students prepare for auditions and interviews related to their arts careers. Students will work with a mentor to meet these requirements. Interested 11th-grade students apply and interview to participate in the course during their senior year.
ASA students continue to be accepted into many prestigious colleges and universities nationwide and internationally, including Ivy League Schools, liberal arts colleges, and standout conservatories. Our most recent Class of 2024, comprised of 78 graduates, will attend 37 different colleges, universities, and conservatories across 17 states and 4 countries, such as Bard College, Boston University, CalPoly, Duke University, Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts (ASU), Johns Hopkins University, Pace University, Sarah Lawrence, Scripps College, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech, Honors Colleges at ASU, The University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University…and MORE!
Don’t just take our word for it; hear what our alumni have to say about their time at Arizona School for the Arts:
“The ‘Arts + Smarts’ approach at ASA was formative, not through a singular revelatory moment but through the cumulative effect of a curriculum that seamlessly integrated rigorous academics with intensive arts education. This holistic approach emphasized that intellectual and creative development are complementary, enriching my abilities in both spheres.” – Daniel Brodie, Class of 2000
“In a future with more computing power than ever before, the human mind’s capacity for creativity both drives innovation and nurtures what makes us human. Creative thinking promotes problem-solving and is essential no matter which path or profession we follow…I felt that creative and critical thinking was the foundation of all our classes, not just the arts, so it became part of the way we experienced and thought about the world and interacted with others, much to our benefit.” – Megan Quinn, Class of 2005
Join us at Arizona School for the Arts and unlock your creativity, talent, and passion. We look forward to learning more about you!
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