Overview
A visual and performing arts education in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) includes the study of dance, theatre, and visual arts. The primary purpose of the district’s visual and performing arts program is to provide students with high-quality arts instruction, grounded in the four artistic processes outlined in the National Core Arts Standards.
- Creating: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
- Performing / Presenting – Performing (dance, music, theatre): Realizing artistic ideas and work through interpretation and presentation. Presenting (visual arts): Interpreting and sharing artistic work.
- Responding: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.
- Connecting: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.
Why an Arts Education is Important
As described in the National Standards for Arts Education, arts education benefits both student and society. The arts cultivate the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication. (National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able To Do in the Arts and GADOE)
Curriculum
District Purchased Instructional Support Resources (click the vendor logo for more information)
Dance
Theatre
Visual Arts
Georgia Department of Education Fine Arts Diploma Seals
GADOE Fine Arts Diploma Seal Flyer
The Fine Arts Diploma Seal is awarded to graduating high school student who complete a Georgia Fine Arts Pathway and engage in creative industry focus courses, extra-curricular activities, and experiences that foster Fine Arts mastery.
The goal of this seal is to produce students who are prepared for college and careers in these Fine Arts-related career fields. The diploma seal is a signal to employers and higher education institutions that a student is prepared to participate in the creative economy. The Fine Arts Diploma Seal is awarded to graduating high school student who complete a Georgia Fine Arts Pathway and engage in creative industry focus courses, extra-curricular activities, and experiences that foster Fine Arts mastery. The goal of this seal is to produce students who prepared for college and careers in these Fine-Arts related career fields. The qualifications for this Seal are:
- Georgia Fine Arts Pathway
- A Fine Arts Pathway consists of a minimum of three courses in one of the Fine Arts subject areas. These include Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts.
- Additional Fine Arts Course
- A fourth Fine Arts course is required for students in addition to the minimum three Fine Arts course requirement. This additional course can be in the same Fine Arts subject area or a different one (such as three Visual Art Courses and one Theatre course). A list of the approved courses can be found on the GaDOE Fine Arts Website
- Extra-Curricular Community Arts Partnerships
- To achieve a Fine Arts Diploma Seal, students share their talent and industry knowledge by participating in two Fine Arts-related extra-curricular activities as well as providing at least 20 hours of Arts-related community service AND presenting a capstone presentation of their experiences.
Governor’s Honors Program
The Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) is a residential summer program for skilled, knowledgeable, and talented high school sophomores and juniors. GHP offers instruction that is significantly different from the typical high school classroom and is designed to provide students with academic, cultural, and social enrichment necessary to become the next generation of global critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders.
GHP is held in mid-summer (mid-June to mid-July) as a residential educational experience on a college or university campus. Students attend classes in the mornings and afternoons in specific areas of study, and they participate in a wide variety of social and instructional opportunities every evening. Meals and rooms are provided by the program. The only required and expected costs to the students are: travel expenses to and from the semifinalist event and host campus; a few basic supplies for classes and dorm rooms; and spending money as desired during the program.
Click the links below for more information:
Each year all sophomores and juniors in DSCD high schools may apply through the local selection process.
2024 GHP Visual and Performing Arts Finalists
| High School | Student | Major/Concentration |
|---|---|---|
| DeKalb Early College Academy | Lariece Nygelle Labiano | Visual Arts |
| DeKalb School of the Arts | Marley Gordon | Visual Arts |
| Dunwoody High School | Zoe Wesolowski | Visual Arts |
| High School | Student | Major/Concentration |
|---|---|---|
| Chamblee High School | Maven Bolick | Theatre |
| Chamblee High School | Maanas Kudrimoti | Visual Arts |
| Chamblee High School | Miranda Greco | Visual Arts |
| DeKalb School of the Arts | Katherine Bivins | Visual Arts |
| Lakeside High School | Kobe Cohen | Theatre |
| Lakeside High School | Abigail Morales-Vizcaino | Visual Arts |
| McNair High School | Lily Legend | Dance |
