Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts

Due to the demands of practicing and touring schedules, the Texas Boys Choir board of directors opened a public charter school, The Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts. This school was expanded to include talented boys and girls in grades three to twelve. Any student regardless of race, religion, disability or income, who wishes to study the fine arts along with a challenging academic curriculum, may attend. Students who attend live throughout north central Texas. This school offers classes in music, visual arts, theater, dance and instrumental music. These classes complete the whole experience of performing and visual arts for each student. Rigorous daily rehearsals, community involvement, and academic achievement define these talented young people.

2005-2006 Highlights:

• Enrollment has more than tripled (360 students), since the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts opened in 2001.
• Average daily attendance rates top 97 percent.

Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts’ emphasis on the arts nurtures the talent of the students daily.

• All of the artistic disciplines combined their efforts for the annual musical. Last year’s musical garnered 8 awards from the 16 nominations for the annual Betty Lynn Buckley Awards which celebrates excellence in musical theatre production among participating Tarrant County high schools.
• Last year, the Texas Boys Choir performed concerts as part of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts Performance Arts Series and completed a three week national tour. The Texas Boys Choir also celebrated their 60^th anniversary this year.
• The Singing Girls of Texas also performed concerts for the Performance Arts Series and completed a two week national tour. Their final performance last May featured music by two nationally acclaimed composers, Gwyneth Walker and David Conte who were in attendance for the performance.
• The Department of Dance will accomplish their 4^th Ballet, An Evening of Debussy. Last year, the department performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, an original ballet by one of the dance instructors, Sheyna Ferraro.
• This year will be the 4^th operetta staged by multiple departments, The Merry Widow. This is the only high school in Texas who stages operas.

The teacher/student ratio is 15:1 for third grade, 16:1 for forth grade, and averages 20:1 fifth grade and higher. Of the 34 teachers, 7 have Master’s degrees.

More than 97 percent of high school students participate in at least one of 11 advanced placement classes. All students at Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts participate in the arts on some level. All students study Choir and Dance beginning in 3^rd grade.

Corporate Partnerships

The Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts has corporate partnerships with WRR Classical 101.1 FM, Community Cable Television with the City of Fort Worth, the Law Offices of Bob Leonard, Moritz motors, Select Plastics, The Dance Shop, and the Ballet Center of Fort Worth.