NTPA – Academy Provides Support to Families
Opting In to Online Public School
Safe, Flexible Programs in Plano, Dallas, Fairview and Frisco
North Texas Performing Arts – Academy has made curriculum enhancements allowing students to combine their public school online and modified schedule plans with NTPA’s elite performing arts curriculum for the 2020-2021 school year. With nearly 50% of public school students choosing online and hybrid options for the upcoming school year, this is a unique opportunity for families looking to add performing arts curriculum to their schedule and families looking for a safe place for students to complete their online public school curriculum. This year the Academy will also be continuing its expansion beyond Plano into Dallas, Fairview and Frisco, and almost all performing arts classes will have a flexibly on-site or online alternative.
“As area schools provide and/or require online and modified schedules, many students will be left home alone and without the opportunity to hone their performing arts skills,” says NTPA Head of School Mike Mazur. “Our “Core Flex” approach builds upon those public school solutions allowing students a safer place to continue their school’s online classes with the support of our core academic coaches.”
NTPA’s campuses in Plano, Frisco, Fairview and Dallas will generally house less than 50 students at any site, and system-wide offers four times the space per student of a traditional public school. With a historical average class size of just 10.3 students, most Fall Semester classes will be capped at 15 students, providing a less crowded alternative to public or private school options.
“We are also announcing that almost all of our fall classes will be flexibly available online or in-person, allowing the parent to decide what works best for their student on a given day,” continues Mazur. “Given the daily changing conditions, our parents are telling us they want to make their own choices for online or on-site alternatives on a daily basis, and we’re going to support that.”
“For many, this is really the best of all worlds as parents get peace of mind and their students receive professional supervision in a more safe and intimate learning environment,” says NTPA CEO Darrell Rodenbaugh. “This combined with our world-class performing arts instruction, taught by professionals in their fields, creates a powerful combination.”
“We look forward to welcoming back our students, their parents and our talented instructors in August to the NTPA – Academy,” continues Mazur. “We have the widest variety and depth of class offerings ever as our students pursue certifications in Acting, Musical Theatre, Dance, Professional Studies, and Film & Television.”
“Our ‘Back to School Task Force’ of over thirty medical, legal, educational and other professionals created a deliberate, careful and comprehensive ‘safe school’ protocol beyond CDC and State of Texas guidelines,” continues Rodenbaugh. “We will enforce daily health checks, rigorous disinfection efforts, safe social distance and other protections, and had mandated protective mask policies well before local or state requirements to do so.”
NTPA is accepting applications through mid-August. Curriculum details and information on personal consultations are available at NTPA.org/academy.
About North Texas Performing Arts and the NTPA – Academy
North Texas Performing Arts is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the character of youth through quality performing arts education and family entertainment evolving from the Plano Children’s Theatre created almost three decades ago. NTPA is Headquartered at Willow Bend Center of the Arts in Plano and has theatres in Fairview, Frisco, and Dallas. Each year NTPA provides opportunities to more than 6,000 youth ages 3-18 years old to experience the impact of the performing arts through its “learning lab” training process. The NTPA vision is to enable every child, regardless of sex, religion, race, or socio-economic limitation to have the opportunity to enjoy and experience the arts.
North Texas Performing Arts – Academy draws on three-decades of experience in offering performing arts training with a goal to become the preeminent performing arts educational institution in North Texas. The Academy offers a bridge to the post-secondary and professional world through a rigorous and comprehensive educational and experiential-learning model for students age 11-18 (grades 6-12). The Academy offers full and part-time programs enabling students to earn performing arts certifications in Acting, Music Theatre, General Theatre, Professional Studies, and Film and Television.
The NTPA Academy offers classes at the Willow Bend Center of the Arts in Plano, and its locations in Dallas, Fairview and Frisco. These multiple campuses offer modern facilities with seven performance theatres, 10 rehearsal studios, nine dance studios and private practice rooms in almost 50,000 square feet of space. The Academy offers core educational support to satisfy Texas State requirements, performing arts classes and production experience between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
