North Charleston, SC (August 12, 2020) – The Arts Schools Network Board of Directors has designated Colorado Springs Conservatory an Exemplary School in recognition of its commitment to excellence. The five-year designation is awarded for 2020-2025.
Arts Schools Network (ASN), the nation’s largest professional membership organization of specialized arts schools, awards Exemplary School designations to members that follow A Guide to Assessing Your Arts School in strategically evaluating their school’s purpose, operations, and educational programs. The Guide is a collaborative effort by ASN and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Pre-collegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS). Due to Covid-19 and the inability to host an in-person conference in 2020, ASN will honor the school at the Awards Breakfast hosted during the ASN 2021 Annual Conference, in Chicago, IL.
The Mission of the Colorado Springs Conservatory (CSC) is to inspire, motivate and challenge students to aspire to their highest potential as artists and human beings through arts immersion studies and community arts advocacy. The CSC is the Pikes Peak region’s only non-auditioned preparatory performing arts conservatory, offering world-class immersion studies and programs in instrumental music, vocals, music theory, theater arts, recording arts, dance, movement, history, and humanities to young people age’s birth through high school seniors and adults in the community.
The organization was founded in 1994 by Oberlin Conservatory and Juilliard School educated Linda Weise, whose mission at that time was to provide a unique home for artistically inclined high school students who were likely to pursue an education in the arts after graduation. As CSC became better known in the region and recognized as having programming that not only provided youth the opportunity to grow creatively and personally through the arts but also grow prosocial skills and build protective factors in a physically and emotionally safe environment, CSC began expanding programming and outreach efforts. These efforts resulted in partnerships within the community leading to more intentional and informed programming for all youth, particularly at-risk and underserved youth populations.
The Board of Directors and Community trustees are some of the region’s most outstanding business and philanthropic leaders. Ongoing communications with stakeholders to include students, parents, mentors and donors ensure open and transparent modeling for everything from infrastructure to financial stability.
Melissa Brookes, Managing Director for ASN, said, “We offer guidance, inspiration and incentives to arts school leaders who strive for excellence in their schools. When they demonstrate outstanding efforts toward this goal, as they do by following A Guide to Assessing Your Arts School, we recognize and reward their achievements with this honorable designation.”
Dedicated to excellence and leadership in arts education, Arts Schools Network, a non-profit association founded in 1981, provides arts school leaders, innovative partners and members of arts education institutions with quality resources, support and networking opportunities.
Visit www.artsschoolsnetwork.org to learn more.
