Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
, AP Physics
, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition
, AP United States History
, and AP Spanish Language
. Students are also offered college credit courses such as Psychology
, Math, English
, Critical Thinking
, Literacy and Propaganda.
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
as part of the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
. The school, founded by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, 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
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, Mannes College of Music
Mannes College of Music
Mannes College The New School for Music is The New School university's music conservatory. While the university's main campus is located in Greenwich Village, New York City, Mannes maintains its main academic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan....
, Queens College's Aaron Copland School of Music
Aaron Copland School of Music
The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest and most distinguished departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937....
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
, School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. Students have also attended competitive pre-college summer arts programs at The Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
School, The Stella Adler Studio of Acting
Stella Adler Studio of Acting
Stella Adler Studio of Acting is an acting school in New York founded by the actress and teacher Stella Adler -History:...
, Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
, Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
and Carnegie Mellon's Musical Theater.
History
FSSA first opened in 2001 and was founded by American singer/painter Tony BennettTony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
and his wife Susan Benedetto, a public school teacher. It was named in honor of Bennett's late friend and colleague Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. The school originally opened in a two-story campus located in DeVry
DeVry University
DeVry University and DeVry Institute of Technology are divisions of DeVry Inc , a proprietary, for-profit higher education organization that is also the parent organization for Keller Graduate School of Management, Ross University, American University of the Caribbean, Apollo College, Western...
's Long Island City Campus building. In September 2009 the school moved to its permanent home located in Astoria, Queens
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
at the Kaufman Astoria Studios
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is an historic movie studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens.-History:It was originally built by Famous Players-Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short...
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
Polshek Partnership
Ennead Architects LLP is a New York City-based architectural firm. Previously known as Polshek Partnership, the firm's nine partners renamed their practice in mid-2010....
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.
Academics
FSSA offers five Advanced Placement courses that include AP BiologyAP Biology
In the United States, Advanced Placement Biology , is a course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level biology course....
, AP Physics
AP Physics
AP Physics defines three categories of high school physics courses: A, B, and C. Category A refers to general introductory physics courses that are not mathematically rigorous...
, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition
Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The Course:This course is designated for motivated students with a command of standard English, an...
, AP United States History
AP United States History
Advanced Placement United States History is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program...
, and AP Spanish Language
AP Spanish Language
Advanced Placement Spanish Language is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The course:...
. Students are also offered college credit courses such as Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Math, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Critical Thinking
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
, Literacy and Propaganda.