Austin, TX— The nationally recognized McCallum Fine Arts Academy has a new home at the magnificent McCallum Arts Center (MAC), located at McCallum High School. The Austin Independent School District (AISD) and the Friends of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy celebrated the grand opening on Friday, September 30 with an open house and performances by McCallum dance students, choir, band, orchestra and classical guitar students.
The 25,000 square foot facility showcases a theater and three state-of-the-art classrooms. Funding for the $9.4 million dollar facility was made available through the 2008 Bond Program. MAC has earned a 5-star Green Energy Rating, the highest award from the Austin Energy Green Building program, because of its energy saving and environmental features.
“McCallum stands for creativity, inclusiveness and success for every student – and I can’t think of a better recipe to elevate public education,” said Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. “For many years now, this nationally recognized program has provided talented students from throughout Austin with a rigorous, four-year accelerated arts program on a diverse public high school campus. McCallum administrators, faculty, students and parents are fully committed to an inclusive open-door policy that weaves the Fine Arts Academy seamlessly into the broader school community. Everyone benefits.”
The McCallum Fine Arts Academy, started in 1993, is a nationally recognized program that provides exceptional pre-professional study in performing and visual arts, on a diverse inclusive public school campus, for talented students across Austin. The Academy is playing a lead role in two new district arts initiatives. The first of these is the Creative Classroom initiative, which is a collaboration between AISD, local non-profit mindPOP, and Austin arts and cultural organizations. The Creative Classroom will develop a demonstration model for “arts-rich schools” at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels. The second initiative is the Kennedy Center’s prestigious “Any Given Child” program, which will provide significant consulting and planning support from senior Kennedy staff and ensure that any given child has access to a strong arts-rich environment.
Please visit the Friends of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy at www.fmfaa.org and find out how to keep the vision alive for talented Austin students. Tickets for theater productions can be purchased at www.mactheatre.thundertix.com.
Photos from the McCallum Arts Center Grand Opening can be viewed at http://bit.ly/nTgWdp
For information, contact the AISD Department of Public Relations and Multicultural Outreach at 512-414-2414.