The Arts Schools Network Board of Directors has designated Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven, Mississippi as a 2017-2019 Exemplary School in recognition of its commitment to excellence.
The Exemplary School designation is presented to Arts Schools Network (ASN) member schools that follow the ASN Principles of Exemplary Practice in strategically evaluating the school’s purpose, operations, and educational programs. ASN will honor Mississippi School of the Arts at the ASN 2017 Annual Conference in the Twin Cities, Minnesota on October 25.
The Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) is a public, residential high school for eleventh and twelfth grade Mississippi students, specializing in intensive arts training in dance, literary art, media art, theatre, visual art, and vocal music. The school’s mission is to provide a challenging arts education for artistically gifted Mississippi students in a residential learning environment that promotes honor, integrity, service, and life-long learning.
Students at MSA are selected through audition, and receive high school academic classes required for graduation and arts classes in selected disciplines of study. Approximately 145 students representing 51 MS counties make up the school’s population. MSA is governed by the Mississippi State Board of Education and funded by the Mississippi legislature. Located in downtown Brookhaven on the historic campus of Whitworth College, MSA is a centerpiece for activity for the downtown Community, offering a vibrant environment for youth to create, imagine, and realize.
“We are so pleased to receive the Arts School Network Exemplary Arts School designation. This honor validates the hard work and exceptional talent that is developed at the Mississippi School of the Arts. Our students, alumni, and staff are excited that ASN recognizes high quality arts education and are humbled that we have been placed alongside our counterparts as an example.” — Suzanne Hirsch, Executive Director
Melissa Brooks, Interim Executive Director for ASN, said, “We offer guidance, inspiration, and incentives to arts school leaders striving for excellence. When they demonstrate outstanding efforts toward this goal, as they do by following ASN’s Principals of Exemplary Practice, we recognize their achievements with this designation.”
Arts Schools Network is a non-profit association founded in 1981 to provide leaders in arts schools with quality resources, support, and networking opportunities. For more information, visit artsschoolsnetwork.org
SEE ALSO: MSA Receives AdvancED® Accreditation