Terry Blackhawk, founder of Inside Out, talks about DSA students and their participation in Getting Versed program at the Detroit Institute of Arts Film Theatre, Thursday, May 26, at 5:30 pm. Now in its third year, Getting Versed showcases original performing arts by Detroit Public School students. Tickets are $5 and worth every penny. For more information about Inside Out and the program, click on this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-m-blackhawk-phd/get-versed-with-the-...

Welcome to Detroit School of Arts, commonly referred to as DSA. Detroit School of and Arts (DSA) has been referred to as “FAME, with an APTITUDE.” A description of this statement is clearly summed up in one sentence: The students are gifted, talented, articulate, intelligent, loving and energetic. Because the students enroll from the entire state and city at-large, they come from various socio-economic and family educational backgrounds. DSA recognizes the importance of creating a learning culture that includes participants from all areas of society. Students are taught to view the world in a way which will support and influence one another in positive ways.

There is no “typical” student at DSA. Each student has a unique personality and talent. Some common characteristics of the students, however, include: a strong loving bond toward each other, a strong desire to excel in both academics and the arts, a freedom of self-expression, a strong vocabulary and ability to speak well in any setting, a keen motivation and strong desire for group acceptance, and a high level of self-esteem. DSA has created a ‘family” environment.

DSA operates on a data-driven instructional system in which the student takes responsibility for his or her learning through results from data. Realizing that the “first performance is in the classroom (Davis-Cotton),” the school curriculum promotes the tenets of rigor, relevance and relationships by our instructional staff. Students respect the administrators and teachers in the building and often refer to them as members of their families because the staff is caring, loving, supportive and always available to listen. Students teachers as friendly people from whom they can receive extra help, and confide in them about their problems and their dreams.

Administrators, teachers, parents and students collaboratively develop self-esteem, pride, discipline, and self-expression through the arts. As a driving force to academic success, many students see the arts as a vehicle to improvement in classroom learning, enhancing academics through an advanced college preparatory liberal arts education. Academic studies at DSA are not sacrificed to attain exceptional pre-professional training in the arts, and the arts training is not sacrificed in order to receive a strong and viable college-preparatory education. Both instructional and non-instructional staff members are dedicated professionals committed to stimulating and nurturing young minds and encouraging active participation in every subject area. Students are motivated by the unique curriculum integration, affording them opportunities to benefit from arts instruction of the highest caliber. Therefore, DSA students are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about self, others, and the world. To support the goals and objectives of the classroom teacher, students partake in activities that give meaning to knowledge. As practitioners of learning, students apply their skills in real-life situations. They represent their school, district, city and state through active involvement in some a plethora of organizations and activities.