Program Overview
The Academy is a unique program that exists as a "school within a school" and focuses on preparing students for college by engaging them in meaningful, career-focused curriculum. Unlike the vocational programs of the past, the Academy prepares the students for universities and esteemed art schools in addition to the career workplace. Our students are selected through a rigorous admissions process from the greater student population and they must meet strict attendance and grade requirements to continue in the Academy from year to year.
Over a three-year period, students in the Academy must complete art and technology classes that include Introduction to Multimedia, Freehand Drawing, Digital Imaging, Digital Video Editing and Animation. All of the technology courses offered in the Academy are dual-enrollment courses in which students receive both high school and Santa Barbara City College credit. In addition to these career-focused classes, students must still meet the University of California requirements in academic classes that have been integrated with media, art, and art appreciation. Academy courses include American and World History, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, as well as 10th and 11th grade English.
In the 12th grade students in the Academy participate in local internships and the Senior Seminar Class. Even though many students begin their internships before the senior year, it is usually during this final year that their participation intensifies. Additionally, senior students attend two semesters of Senior Seminar. The first semester is accredited as Writing For Multimedia, a Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) class that is multimedia project based. In the second semester senior students focus on obtaining workplace skills including public speaking, resume writing, organizing and running meetings, and conflict resolution in the SBCC course BusCom 162. Undoubtedly, this practical application to schoolwork is one of the most useful lessons that any of our senior students will learn.
The Multimedia, Art and Design Academy at Santa Barbara High School is much more than an innovative, career-focused program that uses computers and art. The Academy is actually changing student's lives. Students in the Academy have better than 95% attendance, far better then students in the school at large. Students gain valuable speaking skills through presentations, a broader range of knowledge through multiple field trips and guest- speakers, and useful computer skills needed in all work environments. The Multimedia Arts and Design Academy is a successful, meaningful educational program both in theory and in practice.