Frank Sinatra School of the Arts

Infobox School
name = Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
streetaddress = 30-20 Thomson Ave., 6th Floor
city = Long Island City
state = New York
zipcode = 11101
country = USA
founder = Tony Bennett
principal = Donna Finn
school_colors = Blue and Orange
founded = September, 2001
students = ≈600
homepage = http://www.fssahs.com

The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts is an arts high school located in Long Island City Queens, New York. It was established by Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization co-founded by Tony Bennett. It offers studio courses in instrumental music, vocal music, fine art, dance, and drama. In order to be admitted to the school, a student must audition for one of the art programs; grades are also a deciding factor.

Students have six periods of academic classes and three periods in their studio. All students within the school are able to try out for advanced ensembles, usually beginning in 11th grade, such as Jazz Ensemble, Musical Theater, Chamber Singers, and Women's Ensemble. In 2009, when the school will move to their permanent building, the students will be allowed to take film.

Due to the high profile of the school and the leadership of Tony Bennett, the school's graduation ceremonies have had many famous keynote speakers. Such include: Class of 2008, Nancy Giles, Class of 2007, Kevin Spacey, Class of 2006, Former N.Y. Governor Mario Cuomo, Class of 2005, Wynton Marsalis, and Class of 2004, Jerry Seinfeld

History

The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts was founded in 2001 by the singer Tony Bennett, to honor his good friend Frank Sinatra. The school was originally in the fourth floor of the IDCNY building in Long Island City, where the small student population walked down a single bright blue hallway to get from class to class. In February 2004, FSSA moved across the street to the sixth and seventh floors of the Queens Atrium Building. (DeVry's Long Island City campus and two other smaller high schools are located in the eighth floor building.)

During the 2006-2007 school year, the FSSA Wind Ensemble was awarded a Level VI: "Gold with Distinction" medal from NYSSMA. This is the highest award given for performance adjudication. The performance date was June 1, 2007 at New York University. During the 2007-2008 school year, the FSSA Wind Ensemble and FSSA Concert Band (their first NYSSMA apprience) were awarded a Level VI: "Gold with Distinction" medal and a Level III: Silver medal respectively. The performance date was May 30, 2008 at Lehman College.

In January 2009, the school will move to a new permanent building designed by the famous Polshek Partnership, which is located in Astoria, Queens. It will be near the American Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios. In that building, students will be allowed to take film, thus adding a new studio to the FSSA family.

AP Courses & College Classes

FSSA offers five AP Courses that include AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History, and AP Spanish Language. In the future, the school will offer AP French Language and AP Music Theory.

In addition, Frank Sinatra High School offers college courses such as Psychology, Math, English, Critical Thinking, Literacy and Propoganda, and others at LaGuardia Community College and at Queens College.

Faculty

External links

* [http://www.fssahs.com FSSA School website http://www.fssahs.net]