Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School Information & Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School Links at HealthHaven.com

**Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School**
	Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School
Location
	15 Mulligan Drive; South Hadley, MA; United States
Information
Type	charter school
Founded	1996 (High School); 2004 (Middle School)
Faculty	40 (Full Time); 60 (Part Time/ Administrative)
Grades	7-12
Enrollment	approx. 400
Website	http://www.pvpa.org

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, or PVPA, is a public charter school in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Founded in 1996 as part of the Massachusetts Educational Reform, PVPA was originally located in Hadley, Massachusetts, but relocated to South Hadley for its tenth year in 2005. The school serves students from over 60 towns in Western Massachusetts, but gives priority to students residing in Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties as well as the towns of Petersham, Brookfield, Sturbridge, and Athol.

PVPA was founded by Ljuba Marsh and Bob Brick.

[edit] Overview

PVPA is prominent in Western Massachusetts in most arts. The school has two stages, the main theater and the studio theatre. In the 05-06 school year PVPA made a deal with The Academy of Music to hold their big musical production of the year at their facilities. PVPA's most recent production there was Bye Bye Birdie in 2008. Due to scheduling conflicts, PVPA's 2009 musical, Hair, was held at UMass Amherst's Bowker Auditorium.

[edit] Music

PVPA is nationally known for its contributions to field of music. The school's a cappella ensemble, 5 Alone, has been acknowledged with 2nd place in the Berklee College High School Jazz Festival, and 3rd place in the ICHSA competition.

[edit] Theater

PVPA holds many theatrical productions during the school year. With shows ranging in style from Shakespeare to Commedia dell'Arte and culminating with the schools annual Musical Theater production.

[edit] Dance

As in all other forms of Art PVPA holds a high standard in dance. The Dance department covers many different types of dance ranging from modern to social dances. The highly acclaimed Catayst Dance Company is a pre-professional group that tours nationally and attends the National High School Dance Festival annually.

[edit] Visual Arts

The visual arts program is run by Martin Bridge and encompasses stage craft, costume design and lighting in addition to more traditional forms of art, such as mixed media, painting, and figure drawing. It has been much improved since the move to South Hadley, since the rooms were once portable classrooms.

[edit] Controversy

On 27 May 2009, the Evaluation Committee of the PVPA Board of Trustees recommended that the 3-year contract of co-founder and Executive Director Bob Brick not be renewed after it expires at the end of the 2009-2010 academic year. The committee's decision came as a surprise to most faculty, staff, students and parents, many of whom are organizing in support of Bob Brick and his continued tenure as the Executive Director. ^[1]

^ Daily Hampshire Gazette, 13 June 2009 "Charter school founder's job on the line"

[edit] External links

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[0] Daily Hampshire Gazette, 13 June 2009 "Charter school founder's job on the line"

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