 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
901 South Broad Street , Pennsylvania 19147 | |
| Coordinates | 39°56′22″N75°09′57″W / 39.9395°N 75.1658°W /39.9395; -75.1658 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| School district | School District of Philadelphia |
| Principal | Alonzo Fulton |
| Teaching staff | 37.90 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 743 (2022–23)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19.60[1] |
| Mascot | Pegasus |
| Website | https://capa.philasd.org/ |
ThePhiladelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known asCAPA, is amagnet school inSouth Philadelphia,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the edge of theChristian Street Historic District.[2] It is a part of theSchool District of Philadelphia. Students major in one of seven areas: creative writing, instrumental music, visual arts, theater, dance, vocal music, and media, design, television & video (MDTV). Students may also minor after their freshman year as long as they meet the audition requirements. The school is located on South Broad Street, in the formerRidgway Library. Notable alumni includeBoyz II Men,Questlove andBlack Thought ofThe Roots andLeslie Odom Jr.
CAPA was founded in 1978 by John R. Vannoni.[3] The school was originally located in the Atlantic Building at Broad and Spruce Streets where it shared space with the Philadelphia College of the Arts (formerly theUniversity of the Arts).[4]
CAPA moved into the Palumbo Elementary School Building at 11th and Catherine Streets in 1984.[3] The school board had planned to close Palumbo School, but canceled the closure to accommodate CAPA.[3]
CAPA moved into the restoredRidgway Library building atBroad and Christian Streets in November 1997. In its new location, CAPA became an anchor on Philadelphia'sAvenue of the Arts.[5]
In November 2014, CAPA alumniBlack Thought andQuestlove ofThe Roots helped to launch the CAPA Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission of raising funds and providing financial support to the school.[6]
On Saturday, June 24, 2017, the stretch ofBroad Street in front of the school was renamedBoyz II Men Boulevard.[7] The R&B group attended CAPA when it occupied space in Palumbo Elementary School. The Palumbo building appears in the group'sMotownphilly music video.[8]
CAPA served 707 students in grades 9-12 during the 2017-2018 school year. The school has a 96% graduation rate and a 95% college matriculation rate.[9][10] CAPA ranked #62 among high schools in Pennsylvania by the 2018 Best High Schools edition of theU.S. News & World Report.[9]
The current teacher is student ratio is 22:1.[9] CAPA's longest serving faculty member, dance teacherLaDeva Davis, had been with the school since its founding in 1978.[11] She died in September 2022.
CAPA's academic curriculum includes English, history, mathematics, science, Spanish, physical education and health. Honors andAP classes are offered in English, history, mathematics and science.[12]
Creative writing (CW) is responsible for various school publications and events. Many writers are also a part of the yearbook staff.
Every year, under faculty supervision, the creative writing majors get together to put on their own show, the Writers' Cafe, an expose where many creative writing students perform original pieces they have authored, ranging from simple poetry reading to dramatic performance art.
The CAPA Dance Department instructs their students in different levels of Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, and Flamenco. Dance majors perform annually in theThanksgiving Day Parade as well as theNational Cherry Blossom Festival inWashington D.C.[14]
The CAPA Instrumental Department encompasses a wide variety of performances and ensembles, including concert band, orchestra, and string ensembles, Jazz ensemble and a number of smaller groups. Students participate in these ensembles on a daily basis and are also instructed in such topics as music theory, composition and improvisation. CAPA students are integral members of the All-Philadelphia High School music ensembles and have participated in thePennsylvania Music Educators Association ensemble program at the district, regional and all-state levels.
Graduates of the CAPA instrumental program have attended some of America's finest colleges, universities, and conservatories, such as theCurtis Institute, thePeabody Conservatory,Oberlin Conservatory of Music, theNew England Conservatory of Music, and as of 2024, theJuilliard School.
The instrumentalists have taken trips to play all over the tri-state area fromHarrisburg toAtlantic City. The CAPA concert band has also recorded their own CD entitledSuperlative. CAPA graduate, composer, and multi-instrumentalistRhyuhn Green performed his original piano solo "Symbiosis" at theKimmel Center for the Performing Arts All-City Music Festival.[15]
The Theater Department puts on an average of seven performances a year, plus three more by the MyVision Theater Ensemble, a selective theater group. The students actors also worked in partnership with thePhiladelphia Theatre Company to see plays and write their own pieces with teaching artists from the company before PTC's education department was removed in 2018.
CAPA's Visual Arts department covers a variety of disciplines, including: drawing and painting, graphic design, commercial arts, and ceramics and 3-dimensional sculpture.
Freshmen and sophomores focus on drawing and quick sketching. Students also study the human body and perspective. The freshman students are introduced to hand-built pottery and 3-D clay design, and learn basic graphic design. The juniors and seniors learn advanced graphic design, commercial art, continue painting, advanced 3-D sculpture and work on college portfolios.
Throughout all four years at CAPA, art major students are required to enter a variety of contests, and complete various projects.[16]
There are two separate choruses : Concert Choir and Mixed Choir. There is also a Combined Choir period where the entire major (all classes) sing and perform repertoire together. Concert Choir is the elite, select group of singers (sophomores to seniors), to get in students must keep up their grades, be competent and respectful in class, and sing out. The Mixed Choir is where freshman students begin and upperclassmen who do not make it into Concert Choir sing in this ensemble as well. All vocal majors have to take at least one year of Solfeggio (two if you begin in freshman year). Solfeggio (or Solfege) is a sight reading and ear training course, you will also learn piano skills in these courses. Juniors take Music History. In addition, anAdvanced Placement Theory class is required for seniors to teach them how to master the art of harmony. You must pass all of these courses to graduate.
The CAPA choirs have achieved a position of excellence among choral groups in theDelaware Valley.
A few of the choir's notable singing engagements:
Communication technology or MDTV (stands for media, design & television)[18] is the most recent addition to the majors available at CAPA. Students learn filming, video editing, storyboarding, photography, and graphic design. MDTV students also submit their work into a variety of external film festivals and contests. The major hosts multiple events throughout the year such as Fright Fest and CAPA's annual film festival.
Besides academic and art courses, CAPA offers many extracurricular activities, organizations, and sports teams to students.
