ARTS ED: High School for the Recording Arts

I learned about the High School for Recording Arts program at a “HipHop inside K-12 Education” session at the Americans for the Arts conference in Philadelphia, PA last month. The program has had tremendous success with many students that other schools had either failed or given up on. Many of the students were dropouts before enrolling and the program now boasts incredible retention and graduation rates. The kids get access to professional equipment to produce their own projects and learn the business of the recording industry hands-on AS LONG as they are able to keep up a certain grade point average with their regular high school classes. This program is currently ongoing in Minnesota and in the session they mentioned that another location will be opening soon in NY. We need programs like this in MI!