The Northwest Academy is a private arts and performing arts high school located in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The school was founded in 1997 by Mary Vinton Folberg

Mary Vinton Folberg

Mary Vinton Folberg is a teacher and former dancer. She was Miss Oregon in 1958. She founded the dance program at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, which has become internationally recognized within the dance community...

, former artistic director of The Jefferson Dancers

The Jefferson Dancers

The Jefferson Dancers is the performance group of advanced students from the magnet arts dance program at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded by Mary Vinton Folberg in the early 1980s...

 and sister of Claymation creator Will Vinton

Will Vinton

Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...

. A dancer herself, and former Miss Oregon

Miss Oregon

The Miss Oregon competition is a regional scholarship competition and beauty pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Oregon in the Miss America pageant...

 (1958), Folberg set out to create a private, non-profit 6-12 school with an emphasis on academic achievement and the arts.

Notable alumni

• Esperanza Spalding
  Esperanza Spalding
  Esperanza Spalding is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions...
  
   - jazz musician, dropped out
• Brendan Robinson
  Brendan Robinson (actor)
  Brendan Robinson is an American actor known for playing Lucas Gottesman on the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.-Career:Robinson started appearing in the web series Campus Daze, which he also co-produced...
  
  - Film and Television Actor