Departments and education
Harrison is the house for students to take their Arts classes, while general education classes are taken at Lakeland High School. The school day is divided into 7 periods. Underclassmen take five general education periods in Lakeland High School, while their two arts classes are taken in Harrison. Upperclassmen resort to four general education classes, and three arts classes in Harrison. There are 12 departments in Harrison: Dance, Motion Picture Arts, Choral, Guitar, Piano, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Musical Theater, Theater, Theater Tech, Visual Arts, and Creative Writing. Students take their department class plus one more (two if upperclassmen) other class that will enhance their knowledge in the area. All departments require an audition to be accepted. While students that attend Harrison, are dignified as "Harrison" students, they can also take part of extra-curricular activities offered in Lakeland High School such as: Sports, Clubs, Leadership, FCA, and others.
- Dance
One of the original departments that surged up with the school's opening, is dedicated to students' learning in Contemporary Dance and Ballet. Areas such as Jazz Dance, Hip Hop and Modern Dance are also explored. Students also take classes in dance history, functional anatomy, and improvisation. The department hosts two concerts and two senior choreographed concerts.
- Motion Picture Arts
One of the two new departments that came in with the 2008 expansions, MPA dedicates itself into enhancing students' knowledge in film writing, film screening, directing, and editing. Screenwriting in three levels, Digital Editing in four levels, and Cinematography are the classes taken by students who are accepted in MPA.
- Choral
Opening with the school itself, Chorus is as well one of the oldest departments in Harrison, starting off with 21 kids. Chorus is dedicated into improving vocal technique, chorus music, music history, theory, and music appreciation. Students can also take an AP Theory course, or a World Choir class which enhances in music from different regions of the world. There are currently three choirs: Women's for girls in grades 9–12, Men's for boys in grades 9–12, Chamber for boys in grades 9-12 and any girl that wants to audition, and Harrison Singers, an all-combined choir. The 2014–2016 years has the largest number of men in their choir since the start.
- Guitar
The other new department that opened with the 2008 expansion, Guitar is dedicated to helping the basic and advanced knowledge in Guitar playing, improvisation, theory, and technique. Students in Guitar are also eligible for the AP theory course, which involves a rigorous curriculum in theory, sight reading, and composition.
- Piano
An original department, Piano enhances knowledge in basic and advanced skills in piano playing as well as music history, theory, classical and modern piano music, and improvisation. Piano hosts two concerts per year, exploring in all types of repertoire including classical, jazz, and blues music.
- Jazz Band
A recent incorporated department, Jazz Band explores jazz history, different types of jazz, theory, and instrument technique. Jazz Band also participates in various concerts hosted by other departments.
- Orchestra
Along with Chorus, one of the oldest and most successful departments in Harrison. Orchestra strives for its students to master the skill of symphonic sound through instrument tech, music appreciation, and theory. Harrison's Symphonic Orchestra is well known around the nation.
- Musical Theater
Musical theater focuses in the development of acting, singing, and dancing. Students take classes in Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop, Swing, and Fusion for Dance and practice different techniques for Vocal. Acting is categorized by theater history and acting technique.
- Theater
Harrison's theater department is another original, going back to the day of Harrison's inception. The theater department is categorized by theater performance, with emphasis on acting technique, improvisation, creative writing, and directing. Students also engage in dramatic theory, theater history, and stagecraft.
- Theater Tech
Theater Tech is in charge of every aspect of the show without performing in it. Students take control of the theater sound system for concerts, lights, stage props, stagecraft, and other aspects that are needed to run the show. Students also take part of a semester in acting. Students in theater tech are fully in charge on how shows will go.
- Visual Arts
Harrison's renowned Visual Arts department is categorized by all forms of art: Painting, Sculpting, Photography, and Drawing. Students also take part of 2-D and 3-D animations using the 3-D art lab in Harrison. Harrison as well has their own gallery of all projects done so forth by the Visual Arts department and examples are also shown in the nearby Polk Museum of Art. Students are constantly recognized around the nation for their creations and many can be seen in places such as the Smithsonian in Washington D.C, Museum of Miami, and others.
- Creative Writing
Creative Writing is a relatively new department, added in 2014, but is certainly a very diverse study which includes Fiction, Non-Fiction, Scripting, Screenwriting and Poetry. Principal Ward himself was a Creative Writing student at his alma mater, Florida State University, and thought that a Creative Writing Department was needed.
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Located at 100 Amsterdam Avenue between West 64th and 65th Streets, the school is operated by the New York City Department of Education, and resulted from the merger of the High School of Music & Art and the School of Performing Arts. The school has a dual mission of arts and academics, preparing students for a career in the arts or conservatory study as well as a pursuit of higher education.
Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program. The institution was formerly known as Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA).
Stivers School for the Arts is a magnet school in the Dayton City Schools in Dayton, Ohio, USA, in the St. Anne's Hill Historic District neighborhood. It is a public middle and high school that focuses on education in the visual and performing arts. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Stivers among America's best high schools.
Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School campus in Arnhold Hall at 55 W. 13th Street.
The Perpich Center for Arts Education is an agency of the state of Minnesota that seeks to advance K-12 education throughout the state by teaching in and through the arts. A 33-acre (130,000 m2) campus in Golden Valley houses the center's three main components: the outreach and professional development group, Perpich Arts High School and the Perpich Arts Library. Perpich serves as a resource for arts education, students, teachers, artists and arts and youth organizations in Minnesota.
The San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, known as SDSCPA, is an audition-only public arts magnet school in southeastern San Diego, California, US. The San Diego SCPA is a non-tuition, public, dedicated magnet school in the San Diego Unified School District serving families throughout San Diego County. The San Diego SCPA provides pre-professional training in the arts alongside a college preparatory curriculum. All students audition and complete a required series of specialized arts training in Theater, Music, Dance, Visual and Cinematic Arts, or Creative Writing. Upon graduation, most SDSCPA students continue to universities or conservatories for further study in the arts and academics. Recent acceptances include the Juilliard School, Cornish, Art Institute of Chicago, Curtis, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Peabody Institute, and CalArts.
Howard W. Blake High School is a public magnet high school, with an emphasis on the arts, in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is operated by the School District of Hillsborough County. Originally opened in 1956 as a school for African-Americans, it was integrated as a junior high school after the end of segregation. The current building opened in 1997, when Blake again became a high school.
The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States.
Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts 6–12 (CAPA) is a magnet school located in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CAPA is one of four 6th to 12th grade schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. It was formed from a merger between CAPA High School and Rogers CAPA Middle School.
Franklin High School is a public high school located in Franklin, Massachusetts, United States.
Cypress Lake High School Center for the Arts is a secondary school located in Fort Myers, Florida. Cypress Lake High School is a high school in the South Zone specializing in five arts programs: Music, Dance, Media, Theatre, and Visual arts.
The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the oldest continually operating conservatories in the US.
The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as CAPA, is a magnet school in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the edge of the Christian Street Historic District. It is a part of the School 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 former Ridgway Library. Notable alumni include Boyz II Men, Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots and Leslie Odom Jr.
The Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts is a fine arts and communications high school in Laredo, Texas, founded in 1993 by Vidal M. Treviño, the LISD superintendent and a former member of the Texas House of Representatives. High school students from all three of the Laredo Independent School District high schools - Cigarroa High School, Martin High School and J. W. Nixon High School - meeting the acceptance requirements come to the school either in the morning or in the afternoon. They take one core academic class and one fine art or communication class. The academic classes are taught at the Pre-AP or AP level, meaning a more rigorous curriculum than regular level academic classes.
The Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts is a dedicated fine arts magnet school for grades six through twelve, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States and founded in the fall of 1874. Its seventh and final location, built in 1963, is now the Center for Creative Arts (CCA).
The Public Academy for Performing Arts (PAPA) charter school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) is a series of summer residential programs for New York State high school students. It provides intensive pre-professional training. It is open to all New York State high school age students who qualify through audition. Seven component schools offer training in the specific disciplines of ballet, choral studies, dance, media arts, orchestral studies, theatre and visual arts.
The Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, known unofficially as “VAPA” by students, is a performing arts public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District in the United States. It is located on the site of the old Fort Moore at the corner of Grand Avenue and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to Chinatown. Grand Arts anchors the north end of Los Angeles' "Grand Avenue Cultural Corridor". The school's distinctive architecture has made the facility noteworthy beyond the Los Angeles area.
Rochelle School of the Arts (RSA) is a K–8 magnet school in Lakeland, Florida that has a specific focus on art-related subjects. It offers a variety of classes, such as Art, Band, Dance, Orchestra, Theatre, and Vocal. Rochelle has many different other classes that students can participate in such as keyboard, creative writing, photography, television production, robotics, theatre tech, musical theatre, art, women's choir, men's choir, Treble Choir, Show Choir, Physical Education and handbells. There are many clubs at Rochelle that do not have a class such as, Rocketry Club, Chess Club, Junior Thespians, Ukulele, SSYRA club, National Junior Honor Society, P.E.A.R.L.S, Math Counts, Golf Club, Recycling Squad, and Robotics.
Zurich University of the Arts has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich's School of Art and Design (HGKZ) and the School of Music, Drama, and Dance (HMT). ZHdK is one of four universities affiliated to Zürcher Fachhochschule.
