[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 21, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         EXCELLENCE IN ARTS EDUCATION--A LEGACY OF INTEGRATION

                                 ______


                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 1996

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today 
to be able to add my congratulations for the recent naming of Dallas' 
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts as 
a ``Blue Ribbon'' school. In addition to the ``Blue Ribbon'' 
designation, this special school has also received national acclaim as 
a prototype for subsequent magnet schools through the United States.
  The Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual 
Arts was created about 20 years ago, as a result of a court order 
mandating that the Dallas schools desegregate and the realization by 
the Dallas Independent School District of the specific need to educate 
gifted artists with both the potential and aspiration for careers in 
the arts. Located in the Dallas Arts District, near the heart of the 
city, the magnet school attracts students from throughout the 
metropolitan Dallas area. The multiethnic student body includes 
approximately 650 students in grades 9 through 12. The instructional 
staff consists of 54 teachers. Approximately 88 percent of the faculty 
have more than 10 years of teaching experience while more than 83 
percent have advanced degrees. The school is accredited by the Texas 
Education Agency and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
  The arts school was created to provide a program of excellence in the 
arts which meets the needs of the students and the community. Intensive 
training in the performing or visual arts allows students to explore 
the demands of an artistic career. A rigorous academic program offers 
all courses required for the State's three graduation plans. Students 
are selected through audition, interview, portfolio, or other 
demonstration of artistic aptitude.
  Congratulations to the Booker T. Washington High School for the 
Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas on the 20-year evolution of a 
great idea.

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