Booker T. Washington High School is a recognized and outstanding school for the visual and performing arts in Dallas, Tx. Students are selected through audition, interview, portfolio, or other demonstration of artistic aptitude. The student population reflects the ethnic enrollment of the Dallas Independent School District at large. On the average, 150 graduating seniors are awarded $1.5 - 3.5 million dollars in college scholarships in both arts and academic majors.
A complete academic program is offered at Booker T. Washington including nineteen AP classes. 99% of BTWHSPVA students graduate, with 90% going on to higher education. The instructional staff consists of 54 full-time teachers and approximately 15 part-time teachers and consultants. Faculty distinctions include Fulbright Scholars, a Christa McAuliffe Fellow and two National Tandy Technology Scholars.
With it's dual emphasis on arts and academics, Booker T. Washinton produces a stellar list of alumni including Grammy winners Norah Jones and Erykah Badu, Jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove and members of other groups such as Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and the gospel group, God's Property. Other noted graduates are dancer Jay Franke, cellist John Koen, acclaimed NYC artist Christian Schumann and visual artist Chris Arnold, and drummer Aaron Comess.
Each year Booker T. Washington visual, music, theater, and dance students receive recognition for their acheivements through national arts foundations. This year Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts was one of five Arts high schools chosen by the NFAA as a Distinguished School in the Arts. Four Booker T. students were named as NFAA Arts finalists in 2007 with three students receiving the highly distinguished Presidential Scholar awards. In all BTWHSPVA has had 19 NFAA Presidential Scholars.
The school presently resides at Nolan Estes Plaza in South Oak Cliff but will be moving to their original location in downtown Dallas in the Spring of 2008. Fundraising was recently completed by the Building Campaign of the Arts Magnet Advisory Board to collect the estimated 54 million needed for the new building and construction is almost done.
The original 1922 school building downtown in the heart of the Arts District is being renovated and additions to the school have expanded it from 130,000 to 199,000 square feet, accomodating an 800-person student body. Some of the features of the new building are: 41 teaching spaces, state of the art technology and science labs, a 400 seat or 16,000 square foot ARTS theater for performance and instruction, a 200 seat black box theater, an open air central amphitheater, and visual art exhibition space. The new building will be unprecedented nationally as an arts education facility for a public school.
Booker T. Washington High School's location in the Dallas Arts District will continue to provide students with the opportunity to learn while nestled amongst nationally recognized museums, theaters, and concert halls.
