John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School (DFA) is a public

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

for the fine and performing arts located in downtown Augusta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. It draws students in grades 6 through 12 throughout

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

. In addition to a basic curriculum of college preparatory and Advanced Placement academic courses, Davidson offers academic and fine arts courses in the areas of

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, chorus, dance, cinema production, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. It has been recognized as a National Grammy Signature School, has been ranked as the #1 school in the state of Georgia, and has placed in the top 100 tier of ''

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''s "America's Best High Schools."

History

Davidson was founded in 1934 and named after John S. Davidson (1846-1894), an Augusta native, local educator, and Freemason leader. It was an elementary school from 1934 until 1981. In 1998, Davidson moved from its original site to a new campus one block away between 12th and 13th Street, Walton Way, and Telfair Street. Prior to this, the campus had been split across the original building, a converted

police substation A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

, several portable classrooms, and a renovated iron works building, spreading across three city blocks. At the time, it crossed the

Augusta Canal The Augusta Canal is a historic canal located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. The canal is fed by the Savannah River and passes through three levels (approximately total) in suburban and urban Augusta before the water returns to the river at ...

's second level. Moving to the new location granted a view of the canal's third level. The new location has a theater for art performances. Due to student demand, the original stained glass windows created by the class of 1983 were also moved to the new location. The school is within walking distance of historical landmarks in Augusta, including Sacred Heart Cultural Center and the Augusta Canal's first level.

Mascot

The original mascot for Davidson Fine Arts was the "Flaming Rainbow," due to every grade having a specific color. When all the colors combined, they formed a rainbow symbolizing the unity, diversity, and creativity of Davidson. In 2006, after the success of their swimming team, the school administration created an official mascot for sporting competitions. In a school-wide vote, the mascot "Titan" was chosen. Each grade is still represented by a color: * 6th grade — light green * 7th grade — light blue * 8th grade — orange * 9th grade — purple * 10th grade — green * 11th grade — blue * 12th grade — red Each grade has a sister class with a similar color, with the exception of 9th grade, whose sister class was the lavender 5th grade class.

Admissions

Admission to Davidson is based upon grades and an

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

to determine interest and aptitude in the fine arts.

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. ...

students audition in all of the fine arts areas and

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 ...

students are auditioned in up to two fine arts areas. Classes are admitted to Davidson by

racial quota Racial quotas in employment and education are numerical requirements for hiring, promoting, admitting and/or graduating members of a particular racial group. Racial quotas are often established as means of diminishing racial discrimination, add ...

s (45%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 45%

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, and 10% other). Overall, there are on average about 700 students split equally among all classes.

Awards and recognition

During the 2004–05 school year and again in 2015, Davidson was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

, the highest award a U.S. school can receive. The school has consistently been named as one of the best in the state of Georgia, and was named the number one academic school in the state each year from 1996 to 2009, a feat due almost exclusively to the high achievement of the students the school accepts. The school is also known for its music program; the Davidson Fine Arts Chorale has been named among the best high school choral classes in the nation. In 2004, Grammy Foundation selected Davidson as the Grammy Signature School, and granted the program $25,000. Awards and recognitions include: * Recognized as the #1 school in the state of Georgia consecutively through the 1996–2003 school years * Recognized nationally as the 2004 National Grammy Signature School for its music programs * Recognized for top

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

scores in the state of Georgia for the last ten years * 2003–2004: named a National Magnet School of Excellence * Won first place in the 2004 State Literary Competition * Won first place in the 2003 (Georgia) One Act Play Competition * Ranked highest for excellence among magnet schools by the U.S. Department of Education for academic focus and integration of the fine arts * Named a National Magnet School of Excellence for 2002–2003 * April 1996 issue of ''

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'' cited Davidson as one of 155 of the Nation's Best Schools as part of the America's Best Schools project. * 8 National Merit semifinalists and finalists since 1996 * 22 Commended Merit Scholars since 1996 * 10 National Achievement finalists and semifinalists since 1996 * 25 Commended Achievement Scholars since 1996 * Recognized as a Georgia School of Excellence in 1995 * First-place winner of the 2007 South Eastern Theater Conference * First-place Orchestra at the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 Fiestaval Competitions * Semi-finalist at the 2006 Division AAA Georgia Academic Bowl * Ranked among the top 1% of high schools by ''

'' * First place winner of the 2007 Georgia Theater Conference (one of only two schools to win twice in a row) * Received a gold medal and was ranked 84th best high school in the nation by '' U.S. News & World Report'' in 2007Education Center - US News Education
/ref> * The 2005 GRAMMY Gold Signature School * The Davidson Chorale selected as 2004 ACDA Southern Division Convention performer, Nashville, Tennessee * The Davidson Chorale selected as 2005 ACDA National Convention performer, Los Angeles, California * The Davidson Chorale selected as 2007 MENC Southern Division Convention performer, Charleston, South Carolina * The Davidson Chorale selected as 2004, 2006, 2008, 2016 GMEA Convention performer, Savannah, Georgia, Athens, Georgia * The Davidson Chorale selected as 2010 Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Featured performer * Ranked number 75 in ''Newsweek''s "America's Best High Schools of 2011" * Former student

Garret Siler Garret Andrew Siler (born October 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Marinos de Anzoátegui of the Venezuelan Liga Profesional de Baloncesto (LPB). He formerly played center for Augusta State University (now Augusta Unive ...

was the first magnet school student to play in professional basketball, as a center for the Phoenix Suns.

Clubs

* Academic Bowl * Chess team * Davidson Chorale * Disc Golf Club * Drama club * The Environmental Club * Golf team * High school math club * High school science club * High school student council * Improv Troupe * International Thespian Society * Intramurals * Latin Club * Middle school math club * Middle school math team * Middle school science club * Middle school student council * Middle school art club * Model United Nations *

Mu Alpha Theta Mu Alpha Theta () is the United States mathematics honor society for high school and two-year college students. In June 2015, it served over 108,000 student members in over 2,200 chapters in the United States and in 20 foreign countries. Its mai ...

* National Art Honor Society * National English Honor Society * National Junior Art Honor Society * National Honor Society *

National Junior Honor Society The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is an international student organization that consists of chapters in middle schools (in the range of grades 6-9 depending on the school). The NJHS was founded by the National Association of Secondary Sc ...

* Pennies for Peace Committee * Poetry, fiction, and writing club * Prom committee * Spanish club * Spectrum Players * Swim team *

Tri-M Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an American high school and middle school music honor society. A program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), it is designed to recognize students for their ...

* USITT * Yearbook staff * Comedy club

Athletics

Davidson participates in several district competitive sports, among them track and field, golf, tennis, swimming, and volleyball. The school does not participate in the more traditional high school sports of football, basketball, and baseball.

Notable alumni

Notable Teachers/Faculty

References

External links

Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School

The Davidson Chorale website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson Fine Arts Schools of the performing arts in the United States Educational institutions established in 1934 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools High schools in Richmond County, Georgia Magnet schools in Richmond County, Georgia Middle schools in Richmond County, Georgia Public high schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Public middle schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Magnet schools in Georgia (U.S. state) 1934 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)