High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

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Image:HoustonHSPVA.JPG The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA for short) is a secondary school located at 4001 Stanford Street in the Montrose district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District.

The school, which was established in 1971, handles grades nine through twelve and is the second-most widely known performing arts school in the United States, after the High School of Music and Art (informally known as the "Fame School") in New York City, New York. The school is divided into five departments: instrumental music, vocal music, dance, theatre (including technical theatre) and visual arts. Students are required to audition for entry under one, and only one, art area. At the end of every semester students complete a re-audition or portfolio review which determines whether they will continue at HSPVA.

Academics are also a high priority at the school, which prizes itself on outstanding standardized test scores and offers a variety of Advanced Placement and Pre-AP courses. Students must meet standards in art, academia, and personal conduct, or they risk their place at HSPVA, which is widely viewed as a haven for intelligent, creative and challenging thought.

The school has also had remarkable success in the ARTS competition hosted by the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts in Miami, Florida. Since the contest's conception, HSPVA has sent one or more students per year to the finalist stage to compete for the Presidential Scholarship and has had numerous students receive honorable mention or merit awards which represent the top 5% and 10% of the nation's young artists, respectively.

Plans are currently underway for a new HSPVA building, to be located near the Gregory-Lincoln Education Center in Houston's Freedmen's Town Historical District. The new building will include a 2000+ seat state-of-the-art theater, updated facilities and possibly a recording studio. Construction is currently delayed due to the discovery of a possible American Civil War-era gravesite.

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