Looking for Recent info on Dance Dept and Academics at OSA
My daughter is considering OSA for high school. She is a serious ballet student. I am seeking impressions of the dance department since the new director started? How has the program changed since auditions are no longer required? I am also interested to hear about high school academics. How large are the classes? I heard a rumor that the academic teachers do not stay for long. Is that true? There are very few AP classes offered, but seems like a lot of on campus dual enrollment options. How are those? Also OSA does not allow prospective students to visit during school hours, so any insight into the student/faculty culture would be excellent. Thanks in advance!
Jan 10, 2024
Parent Replies
I don't know anything about the dance program; my kids are in digital media. Student culture is pretty excellent as far as I'm concerned -- it is very much an arts school, which means everyone can be their individual selves and find friends and groups to hang out with. It's a small school so nobody seems totally lost or left out, but at the same time it's big enough to not feel stifling. Academics are fine and middle of the road; teachers are friendly and accessible. It is true there has been a lot of teacher turnover the past couple of years, partly because pay is relatively low comparatively speaking, but the teachers have a new contract so hopefully the churn will slow somewhat. Academic class size is around 25 kids, my own kids say, sometimes lower and sometimes a little higher.
My dancer is a few years out, and did not attend OSA - but knew several dancers that did - the conversations around the dance community at that time was that for serious ballet students (like those doing high level summer intensives/YAGP) - their ballet school instructors didn't want them doing dance there due to risk of injuries with so much dance on a daily basis. Most of her talented ballet classmates just did regular high school and kept training at their home studios. FWIW dual enrollment can yield good college admissions results if they do well in the classes, but let's just say anecdotally they are not known for their academics. Hope that's helpful.