Mission Statement
Supporting Arts Education
The South Orange County School of the Arts (SOCSA) at Dana Hills High School is a visual and performing arts public high school Academy within Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California. It provides an in-depth educational opportunity to talented young artists affording them the chance to explore and develop their artistic talents and prepare them for placement in the college or university and employment in the professional arts industry of their choice.
The SOCSA Foundation was founded in 2000 to support the SOCSA Academy in fundraising and volunteer endeavors. The mission of the Foundation is to support the SOCSA Academy's educational and artistic mission, goals, and financial needs through fundraising and related operational activities.
The Foundation operates through the SOCSA Academy and Foundation Offices located at Dana Hills High School, 33333 Street of the Golden Lantern, Dana Point, California 92629.
The mission of the SOCSA Academy is to provide an in-depth educational opportunity to those students who have chosen fine arts as their first occupation objective. SOCSA will respond to that objective by providing a dynamic and creative environment in which students will be involved in thinking and meaning centered classes with rigorous curricula which integrate academic disciplines and artistic vocational learning. Course sequences with career themes will be created and implemented to afford students the chance to explore and develop their artistic talents, to understand the opportunities available to them, to have mentor and work experience, and to develop employability transcripts that will set them apart from the crowd.
Description
An Arts Academy inside a public high school:
The South Orange County School of the Arts (SOCSA) housed at Dana Hills High School, is a visual and performing arts academy for students within the Capistrano Unified School District who have special interests and potential for creativity. It provides students with intensive training in the arts through a diverse art curriculum, offering comprehensive study in the visual arts, dance, musical theatre, acting, directing, television production and script writing, theatre history, art history, graphic and commercial art, vocal and instrumental music, and communications. Students receive individual and group attention from a faculty who have broad artistic competencies and expertise, including guest lecturers, performers, and designers.
SOCSA utilizes the varied and considerable resources of the cities encompassing South Orange County. A variety of curricular paths within SOCSA are being developed to meet the various career and lifelong learning needs of students. The SOCSA staff works with two advisory committees, the SOCSA Foundation composed of Staff, Students, and Parents within the school. The second is the SOCSA Advisory Board which is composed of informed community members and various artists who provide technical expertise, promotion of program, and support. Students are afforded access to mentoring, job shadowing, and other forms of work-based learning, such as internships and paid positions, while receiving support from the SOCSA faculty. Multi-cultural education will continue to be integrated throughout the arts curriculum so that student may foster respect for themselves and others.
Vision Statement
"Recognizing that artistic students often have unique learning styles and specific kinds of intelligences which are often not addressed in traditional educational settings, SOCSA will endeavor to provide a well-rounded, multi-disciplinary approach to educating artistically gifted students so that they will not only develop their skills and creativity, but are prepared to continue their studies at an institution of higher learning, or enter the work force with relevant, marketable skills, upon graduation. Students throughout the entire school will develop healthy minds and spirits through their exposure to the work produced or performed by SOCSA students."
