Highland High, arts school may pair

Salt Lake City School District is looking into a charter school that would bring an arts-intensive program to Highland High to go alongside its already existing arts academy.

If approved, the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts would be the state's first-ever charter school that shares programs directly with a traditional high school.

"Salt Lake City is one of the last large Western cities to not have some kind of a specialty art school," said Bob Curry, Highland's instrumental music teacher. "There are some other programs starting but we are one of the last to not have an arts magnet school — this is an opportunity for us to catch up with the rest of the country."

Students who attend the new charter school would take core classes that are required for graduation at Highland High and take their arts elective courses at the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts. Highland students could also take classes at the charter school.

SLSPA founders, Shalee and David Schmidt, are both professional performers with extensive backgrounds in dance theater and voice. They both felt that there needed to be a school for students to who want to pursue careers in the performing arts.

Shalee Schmidt said the primary thrust of the school would be in music, theater and dance, and it would prepare students to enter conservatories.

"It is a chance for students to get a conservatory education that would give them a head start into their professions beyond what is offered in traditional schools," she said. "It would also help students who can't afford to get private dance and vocal lessons . . . but (at SLSPA) they would have a resume when they graduated."

Highland principal Paul Schulte said the charter would not eclipse the Arts Academy at Highland, a program within the school that offers an array of arts courses from painting to graphics to chorus.

The charter school would have a primary focus in performing arts and would prepare students for postsecondary performing arts schools.

Schulte said there is also a social advantage for students at the charter school since they will be able to take part in traditional high school activities.

"Kids that are over at the charter school will have the opportunity to

have the total educational experience that perhaps doesn't always happen normally with a charter school — the prom, foreign language classes and clubs — that is important to kids," Schulte said.