Cab Calloway School of the Arts

Cab Calloway School of the Arts
Location
100 N. DuPont Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19807
Coordinates39.7537°N 75.5876°W / 39.7537; -75.5876
Information
TypePublic secondary art school
MottoArts + Academics = Excellence
Established1992
DeanAnthony Gray-Bolden
Faculty48 (FTE) (2019-2020)
Grades6–12
Enrollment937 (2019-2020)
Websitecabcallowayschool.org

Cab Calloway School of the Arts (CCSA) is an arts-oriented magnet school in Wilmington, Delaware, operated by the Red Clay Consolidated School District.[1] The school offers grades six through twelve and each student chooses a particular focus in the field of arts, such as vocals or theatre, that they study throughout school; they must take an assessment or audition in this area upon applying.[2][3]

History

The building that currently houses Cab Calloway is the former location of Wilmington High School.[4] Cab was established in 1992 by a group of parents who wanted their children to have an arts-centered education; for the first six years, Cab existed as Red Clay's Creative and Performing Arts Middle School, offering sixth and seventh grades and operating out of an empty wing of Wilmington High.[5] When Wilmington closed in 1999 due in part to decreasing enrollment, Cab took up residence in the rest of the school and expanded into the 6-12 institution it is today.[6] In homage to Wilmington, Cab kept the words "Wilmington High" on the building near the entrance to honor its historic ties to the community.[5][6] The school changed its name to Cab Calloway in 1993 as a tribute jazz singer and actor Cab Calloway's prolific career as well as a nod to the fact that he lived in nearby Hockessin in his old age.[7]

CCSA's first graduating class was in 2000; the class of 2001 was the first to complete grades six through twelve at the school.[8] The class of 2005 was the first to use the three-tiered diploma system, which would rank graduate degrees as "basic", "standard", or "distinguished", a controversial plan under Governor Ruth Ann Minner meant to standardize the school to better fit No Child Left Behind.[9] When students, parents, faculty, and lawmakers criticized the three-tier system, it was reduced to a two-tier system, until the idea was abandoned altogether in 2005.[10][11]

School symbols
The Sentinel, a wooden figure outside the school

CCSA's fight song is "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway despite its many alleged references to drugs and prostitution.[12] The school colors are silver, black, and purple and the mascot is The Spirit, though CCSA does not have athletics.[12][13] CCSA students who want to participate in sports are able to join teams offered by the Charter School of Wilmington, who they share a building with.[6][13]

The Sentinel

In 2002, the city dedicated Sentinel #3 (known simply as Sentinel), a statue by Jim Paulsen, to CCSA to mark its tenth anniversary.[14] Paulsen refurbished the wood and metal structure in early 2002 after vandals destroyed the initial design, unveiled in 1985.[15] CCSA and Charter students helped with the restoration and the statue was moved from downtown Wilmington to the front of Cab Callway School in fall 2002.[14] In 2003, Sentinel was again the target of vandalism; the perpetrator cut through one of the structure's supporting legs, which cost about $800 to repair.[16] A fundraiser was held to cover the cost.[16]

Academics

CCSA students have the option to take courses offered by their building-mate the Charter School of Wilmington and vice versa.[5] Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD's) offers a dual-enrollment program where students can take courses such as animation or drawing; dual-enrollment students also have access to DCAD's many arts facilities such as studios and computer labs.[17] CCSA consistently has a 98-100% graduation rate.[18]

CCSA has consistently been ranked highly by organizations such as Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report for a number of years.[6][19][20] In 2021, US News and World Report rated CCSA #302 of nearly 24,000 high schools in the United States.[21]

The arts

CCSA has nine majors to choose from: digital media and communication arts (web/print design, cinema/videography, photography, typography, digital audio production); dance; instrumental music; piano; strings; technical theatre (stage tech - high school only); theatre arts; visual arts; and vocal music.[18]

In fall 2004, CCSA opened its own gallery, which has been used to showcase students and local artists.[22] In 2009, the building underwent a $22 million renovation that focused on important upkeep such as ensuring doors were up to fire code, plumbing, HVAC system replacement, and window installation.[23] In 2012, the 1,028-seat theatre was torn down and a $9.8 million theatre was built in its place.[24] It opened in fall 2014.[24]

Theatre

The Communication Arts department directs videography for most of the school's and all shows are edited, produced, and/or live-streamed by students.[25] From 2002 until 2012, CCSA sold DVD copies of each production before switching to uploading to or live-streaming on Vimeo and YouTube. The theatre renovation in 2014 included a state-of-the-art live-stream system; 2018 updates included a photography and videography studio.

The following is a list of shows that CCSA has done:

AYShow 1Show 2Show 3Show 4
1992-1993The Stingiest Man in Town
middle school
1993-1994The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
middle school		Guys and Dolls
middle school		The Daze and Knights of Arthur Pendragon
middle school
1994-1995Babes in Toyland
middle school		Annie
middle school
1995-1996Cinderella
middle school		The Wiz
middle school
1996-1997The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
middle school		My Fair Lady
middle school		Guys and Dolls
middle school		Crazy for You
with Wilmington
1997-1998Bye Bye Birdie
middle school		Little Shop of Horrors
high school
1998-1999The King and I
middle school		Once on This Island
high school
1999-2000Annie
middle school		Big
high school
2000-2001Antigone
middle school		To Kill a Mockingbird
high school		Into the Woods
high school		You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
middle school
2001-2002Tom Sawyer
middle school		Arsenic and Old Lace
high school		West Side Story
high school		Oliver!
middle school
2002-2003Renfield of the Flies & Spiders
middle school		Our Town
high school		Les Misérables
middle school
2003-2004The Aliens Are Coming, The Aliens Are Coming
middle school		The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
high school		Fiddler on the Roof
high school		The Wiz
middle school
2004-2005Tsunami
middle school		Romeo and Juliet
high school		Fame
high school		Just So
middle school
2005-2006Hans Christian Andersen
middle school		Beauty and the Beast
high school		The Laramie Project
high school
2006-2007You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
middle school		High School Musical
high school
2007-2008My Very Own Story
middle school		Sweeney Todd
high school		You Can't Take It with You
high school
2008-2009The Music Man
middle and high school		Arsenic and Old Lace
high school		Parade
high school
2009-2010Into the Woods
high school		Sideways Stories from Wayside School
high school		Footloose
high school
2010-2011Evita
middle school		Noises Off
high school		Hairspray
high school		Alice in Wonderland Jr.
middle school
2011-2012Aladdin Jr.
middle school		The Miracle Worker
high school		The Producers
high school		Little Women
high school
2012-2013The Little Mermaid Jr.
middle school		The Red Velvet Cake War
high school		Aida
high school
2013-2014Beauty and the Beast Jr.
middle school		Almost, Maine
high school		Les Misérable
high school
2014-2015A Midsummer Night's Dream
middle school		Peter Pan
high school
2015-2016Annie Jr.
middle school		A Christmas Carol
high school		Legally Blonde: The Musical
high school
2016-2017Rumors
high school		The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
high school
2017-2018Seussical Jr
middle school		The Mousetrap
high school		Fiddler On the Roof
high school
2018-2019Once On This Island
middle school		She Kills Monsters
high school		Mystery at the Green Parrot Inn (or Captain Bartram's Least Favorite Birthday or What You Will)
high school murder mystery dinner theatre		The Sound of Music
high school
2019-2020Frozen Jr.
middle school		Side Show
high school		Sense and Sensibility
high school		The Great Space Cowboy Mystery
high school murder mystery dinner theatre
2021-2022Into The Woods Jr.
middle school		Mamma Mia
high school

Notable alumni
  • Troy Hendrickson (class of 2006) - comedian and drag performer; creator of viral character "Aunt Mary Pat"
  • Sarah McBride (class of 2009) - LGBTQ advocate and first transgender person to address a major party convention in U.S. history and Delaware State Senator
  • Brandon Ross (class of 2011) - Former NFL Running Back for the Green Bay Packers and 5th all-time in rushing yards for Maryland Football

References
  1. "School Directory". n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  2. "Application process". n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  3. "Calloway (Cab) School of the Arts". 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  4. "Calloway (Cab) School of the Arts". Delaware Today. 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  5. Nagengast, Larry (2017-09-22). "Cab Calloway School of the Arts celebrates 25th anniversary". Delaware Public Media. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  6. Barrish, Cris; Eichmann, Mark (2020-02-18). "Could bringing back Wilmington High help fix school inequities?". WHYY. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  7. Wilson, John S. (1994-11-20). "Cab Calloway Is Dead at 86; 'Hi-de-hi-de-ho' Jazz Man". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  8. "History". n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  9. Davis, Michelle R. (2004-04-28). "Three-Tier Diplomas Ignite Delaware Spat". Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  10. Le, Cecilia (2005-02-17). "Panel's diploma answer: We pass". Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  11. David, Michele R. (2005-10-11). "Lawmakers Expand Full-Day Kindergarten". Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  12. "Cab Calloway School of the Arts". 2016. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  13. "Sports". Cab Calloway School of the Arts. 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  14. Kelly, Paula F. (2002-11-02). "Hailing Cab: School of the Arts lives up to its promise". The News Journal. p. 92. Retrieved 2021-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Besso, Michele (2002-05-07). "Wilmington sculpture gets new look and new location". The News Journal. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Besso, Michele (2003-10-28). "Arts School icon vandalizezd: Fund-raiser planned to fix Calloway's 'Sentinel #3'". The News Journal. p. 92. Retrieved 2021-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "College of Art and Design partners with Cab Calloway School of Arts". 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  18. "Profile" (PDF). 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  19. Petzak, Mary E. (2018-05-09). "Red Clay has 'Top' schools again". Newark Post. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  20. Loudell, Allan (2018-05-09). "A familiar ranking pattern for Delaware high schools in the latest national rankings". Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  21. "Cab Calloway School of the Arts". 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  22. "Cab Calloway School of the Arts". Delaware Scene. n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  23. Squittiere, Nicole (2009-09-22). "The grand opening of Cab Calloway's new theater". Hockessin Community News. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  24. Mammarella, Ken (2014-11-12). "The grand opening of Cab Calloway's new theater". The News Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  25. "Live-streams". Cab Calloway School of the Arts. 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
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