Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, or SASA, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. From its founding in the early 1980s until 1999, it was known as the Center for the Arts & Sciences (CAS). During this period, it was a half-day school utilizing a concentration, or

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, program to allow students to focus on specialized areas of study, while spending the other half of the day at their home school. In 1999, the name was changed, and SASA became a full day school, allowing students to take other required classes in addition to their concentration.

History

The Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy is located in a building that originally housed a

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

department store. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CAS shared its building with the Ruben Daniels Center for Lifelong Education, an adult and alternative high school also run by the Saginaw School district. The CAS met with surprising success, and began drawing students from throughout the Saginaw-valley area, including

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, Bay, and Midland counties. In the late 1990s, a committee of students, parents, and teachers, began a campaign to expand the school to include a full-day option. This committee took on the name "The River School Project", owing to the school's location on the banks of the

Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and S ...

near downtown Saginaw. Although the committee met with much doubt and resistance, support gradually built, and after several meetings the Saginaw School Board eventually unanimously approved plans to expand the school and change the name to the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. In 1999, full-day programs were added for the 9th and 10th grade, with the 11th grade following in 2000, and the 12th grade in 2001. The school building was renovated to include three new full science labs, an atrium, gymnasium, and a new performing arts center that opened at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. In March 2021, a proposal by current superintendent Dr. Ramont M. Roberts was issued, indicating plans to demolish most of the current SASA building, replace it with a brand new high school intended to gather a much larger student base than presently, and move the staff, students, and organizations of current SASA to the Arthur Hill campus, along with demolishing an additional elementary school known as Handley and placing it on the same campus as the new SASA.

Notable alumni

Stephen Lynch (musician) Stephen Andrew Lynch (born July 28, 1971) is an American comedian, musician and actor who is known for his songs mocking daily life and popular culture. Lynch has released four studio albums and four live albums along with a live DVD. He has a ...

— American comedian, musician and actor. *

Brian Bowen Brian Bowen II (born October 2, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He originally committed to play college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals but was suspended by the ...

- NBA player for the Indiana Pacers.

References

External links

SASA's Homepage
{{authority control Public high schools in Michigan Public middle schools in Michigan Schools in Saginaw County, Michigan Magnet schools in Michigan Saginaw Intermediate School District 1981 establishments in Michigan