It’s Official!
VBCPS to Open Two New Academies

You may be aware that the Academy Program so popular with students and parents in the
Virginia Beach School division will gain two new academies for the 2004-05 school year.
A Visual and Performing Arts Academy is slated for Salem High and a Mathematics and
Science Academy will be housed at Linkhorn Park Elementary.

The Visual and Performing Arts Academy provides high school students an in-depth exposure to the arts through a rigorous, challenging curriculum. Four strands – music (both vocal and instrumental), dance, theatre, and visual arts – will be offered and students will ultimately select one as their concentration. Students will receive instruction in performance, exhibition, theory, and history in the arts and will also participate in independent seminars and performances. In addition, seniors will take part in an inter-disciplinary final project.

VBCPS' students will have the opportunity to audition on March 27 & March 28 in the Salem High School Auditorium.

Rising ninth grade students from across the city who have a deep interest in and talent for
one of the visual or performing arts should consider applying for admission to the Visual and
Performing Arts Academy. One hundred students – 20 in each of the four strands – will be
selected on the strength of their applications and will comprise the freshman class. An
information packet containing an application, a letter explaining the program, and a brochure has been mailed to current eighth graders.

The Mathematics and Science Academy is designed for students who have a high interest in mathematics and science and who would benefit from a rigorous program. ONLY students who reside within a three-mile radius of Linkhorn Park Elementary are eligible to apply by March 23, 2004. This will involve Alanton, Birdneck, John B. Dey, Cooke, Linkhorn Park, Seatack, and Trantwood elementary schools.

Forty-eight students will be selected to comprise two third grade classes. The curriculum
is inter-disciplinary with a hands-on laboratory approach and will be delivered by a team
of teachers at each grade level. Instruction will be accelerated and will emphasize the
development of problem solving and higher order thinking skills. An information packet with a brochure, explanatory letter, and application has been mailed to rising third-grade students in the designated attendance zones.

For more information, please contact the Office of Gifted Education and Academy Programs at 563-1255, or e-mail Tracey Love.