Secondary Visual ArtThe Tulsa Public Schools Secondary Visual Arts Department has received much regional and national recognition. This has been due in part to the continued support for the fine arts that provides a tri-partite design in programming. Arts opportunities are offered to students during the school day, after hours, and throughout the school year including during the Spring Break and Summer Sessions.
All of our high schools and most of our middle and junior high schools offer visual arts classes. Recognizing the necessity of addressing the needs of gifted secondary students, many of our secondary art teachers have received additional AP Training by the College Board. In addition, one of our middle schools, Carver Middle School, and one of our high schools, Booker T. Washington High School are members of the International Baccalaureate Program. This program offers a rigorous curriculum in the visual arts.
Tulsa Public Schools has a magnet fine arts school, Central High School. The school is new, with state - of- the- art equipment. It has a strong fine arts faculty offering a diverse curriculum. In 2007 the Tulsa Public Schools received a $12,000,000 grant for Magnet Schools development.
Several of our high schools and middle schools have active art clubs and a National Art Honor Society. These after school programs allow serious students the time and opportunity to explore the arts in greater depth.
Local community donors also enrich the fine arts department with their giving. The Levit Family Foundation provides funding for the Levit Prize for Excellence in Art Education. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior each year. The Assistance league of Tulsa provides support for the annual District Art Show, now in its 35th year. They, along with Myrna Kaiser also provide grants to individual arts classrooms for innovative projects. Numerous other family and corporate foundations provide funding for contests and grants for students and teachers. Tulsa has been highly successful in competition and the results of some of their prizers appear on this web site.
This year, Tulsa Public Schools was the recipient of a three year pledge for support of our Spring and Summer Arts Programs from the Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation. Pledging $135,000, hundreds of students will be able to continue their summer arts experiences through school year 2017.
The State Superintendent Arts Awards for Excellence is an end of career award for outstanding high school arts students. Each year Tulsa Public Schools has several students recognized.