by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Tucked away off of Philips Highway is a school filled with talented students hoping that one day their names will be on a Broadway marquee, the cover of a CD or in the credits of a major motion picture.
For more than 22 years the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has been the backbone for talented artists, musicians and performers in Jacksonville. Students have gone all over the United States after graduating from Douglas Anderson in pursuit of their dreams.
The building that houses Douglas Anderson has been used as a school since the 1920s. It wasn’t until the mid-80s that the school was turned over to the group that opened the current Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. The first principal was Mary Francis Witaker. In 1988 Jackie Cornelius started working at the school as the arts director. Eighteen years later, Cornelius became principal.
“What I love about this program is that it truly serves a special group of students that really blossom here,” she said. “They have the love and passion for the art form and here they can’t get enough of it.
“I get parents that tell me that their kids can’t wait to go to school.”
Based on what graduates of Douglas Anderson tell Cornelius, many said that until they attended Douglas Anderson, they never felt like they belonged.
“These students have a passion and commitment to art,” she said.
Cornelius explained that students in Jacksonville wouldn’t have the chance to get into the top conservatories or colleges if it wasn’t for the school.
“Where would they get it if it wasn’t here?” she said. “They wouldn’t have a chance out there.
“These truly talented students really get what they need to get into the best conservatory or college ... and they do.”
Nationally, 20 percent actually leave arts high schools in pursuit of a performing arts degree. D.A. does better.
“About 35 percent of students at Douglas Anderson are accepted and pursue performing arts degrees all over the country, which is very high,” said Cornelius. “We provide them the opportunity to refine their skills while they get great, strong experience.”
Cornelius went into detail about the three areas Douglas Anderson focuses on.
“We are expanding the ways a student can become successful with a well-prepared, well-rounded education,” she said. “If a student works hard, they will be on the cutting edge and be on top of admissions at the country’s top colleges and conservatories. They can double the kinds of scholarships in either academic or art that they can receive to help them go to college. Lastly, the school offers intensive studies.”
In 2006, Douglas Anderson saw 98 percent of their graduates go on to post secondary education and $5.6 million worth of scholarships were offered to the graduating class.
There are eight areas of the arts that the school offers to its students: instrumental music, creative writing, vocal, dance, film/TV, piano, visual arts and theater. It’s this type of focused yet culturally-diverse education that keeps the classrooms full at D.A.
“Where would these children get this if it wasn’t here?” said Cornelius. “They wouldn’t have the chance they do now.
“And suddenly they are connected to their school, rather than dropping out of school.”
There are 16 arts high schools in Florida, but not all of them are like Douglas Anderson. Some schools are considered arts high schools because of their extensive art programs. Douglas Anderson is not only known to the Jacksonville community, but nationally, too.
“We have students who fly to Jacksonville to audition,” she said. “Sometimes if the student’s parents work for a big company that is also here in Jacksonville, they will move so their child can come here.
“That is an incredible indicator of success,” added Cornelius. “But we aren’t there yet. The city has to embrace the high school and that isn’t happening yet here.”
There are some perks that students receive while they attend Douglas Anderson. Guest artists will come to the school, whether they are graduates or not, to work with the students. They have had some of the writers from the hit TV show “Seinfeld” visit the school. Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Francis Wright came to the school for a week.
The students receive visits from Broadway shows that are in town. In April, some of the cast of “The Lion King” will visit the school.
The administrators at the school are constantly revising the curriculum and bringing in new equipment that will help the students even more at the next level.
“We are very passionate about this school,” said Cornelius. “We are constantly meeting to find out what is working well and what isn’t working well. We always want to find a way to bring the school to the next level.”
Some of the new additions to the school over the past few years include adding a music composition class because it is now a requirement to get into some arts schools. The school also built an electronic music lab and a recording studio. And, the vocal students were finding they need diction lessons.
“We keep massaging the curriculum and figuring out how we can make it better. You want to keep growing, changing and refining,” she said. “The minute you stop, you’re dead.”
Cornelius said students at Douglas Anderson can’t get by with just their talent.
“They have to work hard in all of their subjects,” she said. “You can get very good grades here, you just have to work hard.
“Success is based on the students’ work and their natural talent.”
At a speech at Florida Coastal School of Law earlier this year, State Sen. Jim King spoke about public education and the problems the state is facing. Besides a large teacher shortage across the state, King also said the drop-out rate continues to grow.
“I want to try to have more schools like Jacksonville’s Douglas Anderson School for the Performing Arts,” he said. “Schools that have a certain focus area have a higher graduation rate because the students in those schools are doing what they like to do, in addition to getting the mandatory core education.”