The Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (VSAA) is a public arts

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 grades 6 to 12 in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, United States. It is part of the

Vancouver Public Schools Vancouver Public Schools is a school district in Vancouver, Washington covering in Clark County. Schools The district has 36 schools: * 21 elementary schools (PK-Grade 5) * 6 middle schools (Grades 6-8) * 5 high schools (Grades 9 to 12) Van ...

and in addition to traditional academic studies, the school's curriculum has an in-depth elective study of the performing,

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, 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 p ...

and

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (the ...

arts, as well as

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies. ...

(called "moving image arts" at the school).

History

The VSAA was established in 1996. The building originally housed Shumway Junior High School. Leslie Durst has been a substantial donor to VSAA since its beginning, aiding in the well being of the arts and the school. A notable piece of the building, the Royal Durst Theatre was funded by Leslie and named after her father. Recently, she even funded the replacement of the seats in the Royal Durst theatre. Leslie continues to be a part in helping art students succeed by giving out the Leslie B. Durst scholarship to VSAA students that will continue to pursue the arts in college.

References

External links

* {{authority control Art schools in Washington (state) Public middle schools in Washington (state) Magnet schools in Washington (state) High schools in Vancouver, Washington Public high schools in Washington (state) Educational institutions established in 1996 1996 establishments in Washington (state)