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Fine Arts In Schenectady
The Schenectady City School District is proud of its
award-winning comprehensive district-wide fine arts program.
Award-Winning
Program
The Board of Education earned state recognition from the New
York State Alliance for Arts and Education and the New York
State School Board Association in 2007
and a national award from Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts
Education in March 2008.
Schenectady High
School's John Sayles School of Fine Arts (SSFA) was selected as
one of five schools in the country - the only school in New York
State - to receive
the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts National Schools of
Distinction in Arts Education Award for their work during
the 2007-2008 school year. The award honored Schenectady High
School for making the arts an essential part of the students’
education.
Extraordinary Fine Arts
Opportunities
The Schenectady City School District offers an array of
extraordinary fine arts opportunities and programs for the
10,400 students in the district. All students have the opportunity and are strongly encouraged to
participate in the arts.
Students in Grades Pre-K - Grade 6
enjoy instructional art classes once a week and music
classes twice a week, all taught by certified teachers.
The district values the fine arts as part of the core academic program for the
district's youngest children and provides programming that
exceeds state mandates.
Elementary artwork is displayed throughout the school year.
Work is on exhibit through the traveling art shows, an annual BOCES art show, annual
mall show and exhibits in many of the schools and administrative
offices and entranceways.
Learning to Play an Instrument
All students, beginning in fourth grade, have an opportunity to
learn to play a musical instrument including string
instruments.
The Schenectady City School District puts great effort into
obtaining and maintaining instruments for beginner students.
Instruments can be rented for $35 per year - the rental fee is
returned to the department to cover the cost of maintaining the
instrument. The district also offers assistance to those
students who are suffering from financial hardship. Those who
have difficulty pay the annual fee can apply for a waiver.
Students in Grades 7 - 8 enjoy
grade level music and art. All three of the district middle
school offer band, orchestra, choir and many extra-curricular
fine arts options. These include art clubs, dance clubs
including ballroom dancing, drama, guitar club, writing clubs
and more.
Each Schenectady middle school includes a piano keyboard lab.
Students at ever grade levels participate in school-wide and
community performances. Each of the schools from elementary
through high school host at least two concerts annually.
Schenectady High School holds at least four major concerts each
year.
Performance groups are active in the community including senior
centers, nursing homes, for younger students and at community
events. Students also perform in a number community based
productions and performances including Oneida Jazz Festival,
Melodies of Christmas, NYSSMA Festivals, joint performances with
local community based choral groups and more.
Every year students of all levels participate in an all-city
event at Proctor's Theatre. Students from eleven elementary
school, three middle school and Schenectady High School perform.
 Visual
art is visible throughout the
district. Each entrance to the district office is dressed with
a student gallery that showcases student art of various levels.
The annual art exhibit is a two-week community event held in a
local mall. A small group of work is selected from this exhibit
which travels for one year to various venues which include
Schenectady City Hall, Schenectady County Community College and
the New York State School Boards Association. Students also
participate in a high school juried regional show, a high school
juried three-dimensional show and a regional media art show.
Collaborations
The Schenectady City School District collaborates with many
cultural institutions and community arts programs for
residencies, field trips, professional development programs and
more.
Residency Programs "Stories
that Dance" is a program with the Northeast Ballet and Dance Co.
in conjunction with Proctor's Theatre which takes places every
year in an elementary school. There is at least one residency
in elementary school each year. Other residencies include
Proctor's Theatre, Ellen Sinopoli Dance Co., Ellen Senisi and
Concerted Effort.
Another residency focusing on dance, theatre, differentiated
instruction and literacy all highlighted through improvisation
is offered to all 6th graders each year. Students work on
reading for understanding through improvisation. The residency
culminates with a trip to Proctor's Theatre for a related
performance as well as a school wide performance by the sixth
grader for their peers.
Students attend performances at Proctor's Theatre, The Palace
Theater, Capital Repertory Theatre, AAUW (American Association
of University Women), The Egg and The NYS Theater Institute.
 Students
have opportunities to take a number of field trips which may
include the Albany Institute of History and Art, Children's
Museum of Saratoga, Children's Museum of Science and Technology,
Clark Art Institute, Empire State Aero-sciences Museum, The
Empire State Youth Orchestra, The Farmers' Museum, The Fenimore
Art Museum, Handcock Shaker Village, Iroquois Indian Museum,
MASS MoCHA, National Baseball Hall of Fame, New York State
Museum, Planetarium Adventure, The Schenectady Museum and The
Tang Museum.
Visiting artists include The Hill Brothers, Marni Gillard, Music
Mobile, Poppytown Puppets, The Puppet People, Scotia Glenville
Children's Museum, Tom Knight puppets, Greg Kenney, The Rusty
Pipes, Schenectady Theater for Children, Bruce Hiscock, Red
Grammer, Tony Vacca's World Rhythms and Da Chen, a Chinese
author.
 The
John Sayles School of Fine Arts functions as a school within
a school at interdisciplinary focus in both the visual and
performing arts. Its purpose is to provide a rigorous academic
program with consistent opportunities for students to explore
the fine arts for future academic, career and personal
enrichment.
The school is housed in a 42,000 square foot wing of Schenectady
High School.
Since its debut in 1998, the Sayles School of Fine Arts Blue
Roses Theatre Company has performed more than 40 shows in its
impressive 250-seat Black Box Theatre.
The Sayles School of Fine Arts is one of the few schools
statewide to offer dance. Students study jazz, tap, ballet and
Afro-Brazilian Dance. Dance Connection is the school's
performance troupe.
SSFa has two jazz bands, a wind ensemble, a full band and
orchestra along with four select choirs including a boys' choir.
The visual arts curriculum offers a range of courses from Studio
in Art to AP Drawing. The Henry and Miriam Butzel Gallery
located in the Sayles wing showcase student and community
artwork during throughout the year.
The media arts program at SSFA includes TV and video production,
filmmaking and news gathering. It is home to SCS-TV, the
district's TV station on cable channel 17.
Each summer, SSFA offers a Summer Film Festival. The project,
in cooperation with Proctor's Theatre, offers students the
opportunity to write, direct, edit and star in their own films.
The topics vary from documentaries to comedies.
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