Communications Arts High School
Encyclopedia
Communications Arts High School (commonly Comm Arts or CAHS) is a magnet school
in the Northside Independent School District
of San Antonio, Texas
, United States
. Founded in 1995, the school has an enrollment of 100-130 students per class, accepting 130 freshmen per year. The school is a "school within a school" sharing the campus of William Howard Taft High School
with an academic focus on teaching multimedia and communications skills.
students with at least a C average and requires the submission of an application and the student's choice of an essay or a 5 minute video. Eligible applicants are entered into a lottery system with selected students notified by mail. Prior to admitting the class of 2001, the admissions process did not operate as a lottery, and admitted students were selected based on the merits of their application. Each year, the school accepts approximately 130 freshmen. As a public school, no tuition is charged to either in-district or out of district students.
Additional emphasis is placed on college preparation. All students take the PSAT on campus once a year. All students take Advanced Placement courses, with students being required to take AP World History their sophomore year. Students also take AP US History, AP English III and IV as well as other AP science and mathematics courses on the Taft campus in their junior and senior years. All AP courses are supplemented with test preparation books including those of companies like Kaplan, Inc which are given to students free of charge in their first semester. All core courses that are not offered as AP (such as World Geography) are offered as Pre-AP courses, though students may elect to take regular versions of the course on the Taft campus. Students who follow the standard curriculum generally graduate with Distinguished Achievement Diplomas.
Students also participate in traditional electives, including fine arts programs and athletics, with Taft students.
Communications Arts student organizations generally operate independently of their Taft counterparts and include a National Honor Society
chapter, Student Council, Environment Club, Latin Dance Club and Helping Hands. All organizations have faculty sponsors, which assist in any fundraising activities like selling food after school. Each class has it's own organization as well, responsible for raising funds to prepare for senior year activities. Officers for these class organization are elected by the student body.
The school's small atmosphere and numerous student organizations have fostered many annual school events. These include musical events such as Commstock, an event where student bands perform, and Grassroots Cafe, an art house event with a focus on the environment. Additionally, the school hosts two festival style events in its outdoor classroom, Turkeyfest and Earthday, sponsored by the Student Council and Environment Club, respectively. These events are generally fundraisers for the organizations that sponsor them.
The school's focus on communications pursuits fosters many student produced publications. These include weekly video announcements and an annual recruitment video, produced by the Advanced Video Technology class. The school produces its own yearbook as well, under the title Unity. Students also publish a Spanish language campus e-paper under the title La Communidad.
magazine's America's Top Public High Schools, respectively. It has consistently placed the highest of any San Antonio high school on the list since it's inception in 2006
In 2010, the school was ranked 19th in the nation by Newsweek.
In 2011, the school was rated "recognized
" by the Texas Education Agency
.
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
in the Northside Independent School District
Northside Independent School District
Northside Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Leon Valley, Texas. It is the largest school district in the San Antonio area and the fourth largest in the State of Texas...
of San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1995, the school has an enrollment of 100-130 students per class, accepting 130 freshmen per year. The school is a "school within a school" sharing the campus of William Howard Taft High School
William Howard Taft High School (San Antonio, Texas)
William Howard Taft High School is a public secondary school in the Northside Independent School District.Taft High School was the fifth NISD high school, and the first one outside of Loop 1604. It is home to the magnet school Communications Arts High School which primarily focuses on...
with an academic focus on teaching multimedia and communications skills.
Campus
Communications Arts resides within the larger Taft High School campus in the C building. Teachers may elect to hold special classroom activities in the school's outdoor classroom, and students are allowed to have lunch there as well. Students taking Yearbook or Advanced Video Technology classes have access to a publications lab equipped with iMacsIMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
Admission
Admission to Communications Arts is open to Bexar CountyBexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
students with at least a C average and requires the submission of an application and the student's choice of an essay or a 5 minute video. Eligible applicants are entered into a lottery system with selected students notified by mail. Prior to admitting the class of 2001, the admissions process did not operate as a lottery, and admitted students were selected based on the merits of their application. Each year, the school accepts approximately 130 freshmen. As a public school, no tuition is charged to either in-district or out of district students.
Curriculum
Communications Arts' curriculum focuses especially on communications skills. All students are required to have at least three credits of Spanish. Students are also required to take Digital Interactive Multimedia, Media Criticism, Communictions Applications (speech), and Independent Study Mentorship classes over their four years, with the option of taking other advanced media classes separate from Taft. These courses include Art 4 Electronic Media (Advanced Video Production), Digital Graphics and Animation, AP Art History, and Yearbook.Additional emphasis is placed on college preparation. All students take the PSAT on campus once a year. All students take Advanced Placement courses, with students being required to take AP World History their sophomore year. Students also take AP US History, AP English III and IV as well as other AP science and mathematics courses on the Taft campus in their junior and senior years. All AP courses are supplemented with test preparation books including those of companies like Kaplan, Inc which are given to students free of charge in their first semester. All core courses that are not offered as AP (such as World Geography) are offered as Pre-AP courses, though students may elect to take regular versions of the course on the Taft campus. Students who follow the standard curriculum generally graduate with Distinguished Achievement Diplomas.
Students also participate in traditional electives, including fine arts programs and athletics, with Taft students.
Organizations
Communications Arts student organizations generally operate independently of their Taft counterparts and include a National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
chapter, Student Council, Environment Club, Latin Dance Club and Helping Hands. All organizations have faculty sponsors, which assist in any fundraising activities like selling food after school. Each class has it's own organization as well, responsible for raising funds to prepare for senior year activities. Officers for these class organization are elected by the student body.
Events
The school's small atmosphere and numerous student organizations have fostered many annual school events. These include musical events such as Commstock, an event where student bands perform, and Grassroots Cafe, an art house event with a focus on the environment. Additionally, the school hosts two festival style events in its outdoor classroom, Turkeyfest and Earthday, sponsored by the Student Council and Environment Club, respectively. These events are generally fundraisers for the organizations that sponsor them.
Publications
The school's focus on communications pursuits fosters many student produced publications. These include weekly video announcements and an annual recruitment video, produced by the Advanced Video Technology class. The school produces its own yearbook as well, under the title Unity. Students also publish a Spanish language campus e-paper under the title La Communidad.
Recognition
In 2008 and 2009, it was ranked 26th and 17th in NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine's America's Top Public High Schools, respectively. It has consistently placed the highest of any San Antonio high school on the list since it's inception in 2006
In 2010, the school was ranked 19th in the nation by Newsweek.
In 2011, the school was rated "recognized
Texas Education Agency accountability ratings system
The Texas Education Agency accountability ratings system rates all public schools, charter schools, and school districts in the State of Texas.The criteria are the same for schools and districts, and are discussed below...
" by the Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
.