PRESS RELEASE
ENROLLMENT IS NOW OPEN FOR THE NEW PERFORMING & VISUAL ARTS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
The Institute for the Creative Arts, the first Performing & Visual Arts High School in Arkansas, is excited to announce that enrollment is now open for the 24-25 school year. ICA is an open enrollment tuition-free public charter school located in Fort Smith and accepts students on a first-come, first-served basis.
The new high school opens this August for students entering grades 9-11 with grade 12 added in the fall of 2025. The school day will run from 8am-4pm with the day divided between academic and arts instruction.
The Institute will be housed in the new Center for the Creative Arts, a state-of-the-art facility on the beautiful 10-acre campus located at 1101 Riverfront Drive in Fort Smith. The facility is owned by Community School of the Arts.
Enrollment into the Institute is a multi-step process that begins with preregistration. The ICA website is now active for students to begin the enrollment process. To Pre-Register, simply go to www.icafortsmith.org and visit the PREREGISTRATION PAGE and click on the button that takes you to the online form. By preregistering, you ensure your spot in the school this fall.
Once a student has pre-registered, the student and family will be contacted with more details about how to finish the enrollment process. There is a legal process that students must go through to be officially enrolled in a state funded school. A birth certificate, social security card, up-to-date immunization record, and proof of residency in Arkansas are all required. Once the student is enrolled, we will then begin a process of identifying the areas of creativity, talent, and interest the student has in order to assist in placing each student in the appropriate areas of study.
It is strongly recommended that students pre-register early because grades will fill up. ICA also strongly recommends that students begin the program as early as 9th grade in order to take advantage of the four-year arts curriculum and all that ICA has to offer. Students at any grade level, however, are welcome to enter the program.
QUOTE: Dr. Rosilee Russell, Founder/Executive Director of Community School of the Arts
We are so excited to be able to provide a special high school like this in Arkansas. When students get to pursue their passion, they excel in unimaginable ways which leads to great things in their future. We hope students will register early to save their spot!
The Mission of the Institute is:
Empowering students through an intensive arts and academic curriculum that prepares them for higher education, creative careers, and to become future leaders in the performing and visual arts industries.
The Institute will combine a rigorous college preparatory academic program with pre-professional training in the arts which will include music, theatre, dance, visual art, film, and culinary. The school will specialize in arts programs that are not typically offered in a traditional high school. Students will be immersed daily in an arts discipline of their choice and spend several hours weekly training and honing their skills. It is a true model for arts education.
ICA will open with arts programs in contemporary music including jazz and pop styles, music composition & technology, theatre, musical theatre, technical theatre, dance, studies in visual art including digital art, animation, and gaming, and creative and theatrical writing. Students will have the opportunity to select their choice or choices of arts study. Highly specialized teachers will instruct and mentor students in these programs.
National studies now show that there is nearly a 100% high school graduation rate in performing and visual arts high schools across the US with over 90% of those students going to college on arts and academic scholarships.
Much more information is coming including meetings to answer questions and assist in registering students. We anticipate a large interest in this school so getting connected early is important.
To find out more and begin the enrollment process, visit www.icafortsmith.org. For more information, contact the Community School of the Arts office at 479-434-2020, email info@icafortsmith.org, or contact Dr. Rosilee Russell at rosilee.russell@csafortsmith.org.
Contact Info: Dr. Rosilee Russell, Executive Director, 479-739-4655 Rosilee.russell@csafortsmith.org, rrussell@icafortsmith.org
Deana Griffith, Director of Operations, 479-434-2020 deana.griffith@csafortsmith.org, dgriffith@icafortsmith.org
