Visual and Performing Arts magnet coming to Maxey Elementary

“We have teachers that have industry-level experience. A lot of students are performing in arts, but they just want to be able to do more of it. And I think this (magnet) will definitely allow the opportunity for them to do so.”

 

— Principal Carletta Davis-Wilson

Maxey Elementary School will be the home of a new visual-and-performing-arts magnet program in the near future.

The new magnet program begins during the 2020-2021 school year. Students will have the opportunity to take classes on art, music, dance and instructional technology, according to Orange County Public Schools spokesperson Lorena Arias.

Maxey Elementary Principal Carletta Davis-Wilson said the program will give her students a unique learning environment. 

“We are so excited,” she said. “Maxey (Elementary) being chosen for this magnet is such a great opportunity for the students and the community.

“We have teachers that have industry-level experience,” Davis-Wilson said. “A lot of students are performing in arts, but they just want to be able to do more of it. And I think this (magnet) will definitely allow the opportunity for them to do so.”

District 7 School Board member Christine Moore spearheaded the effort to establish the arts magnet at Maxey.

“I was kind of the inspiration for the program,” Moore said. “It was clear that that school had been under-enrolled for years, and we needed to come up with something to attract students.”

She added Maxey seemed to be a good fit for the program because of the active art community in Winter Garden and because the school already offers an arts academy.

Davis-Wilson said although the program only has been announced recently, support for the program from the community already is strong.

“We’ve had several parents stop by, (and) we’ve had people from the community call and ask what could they donate and where do we need help,” Davis-Wilson said. “One of the things we’ve done is connect with the Winter Garden community. For example, the Garden Theatre, they are going to be one of our partners. And we’ll increase awareness of their program, but then they’ll strengthen us by providing (a) partnership that would help improve our students’ skills in the arts and theater. It will also, hopefully, be a way for families to support the Garden Theatre.”

The magnet program will be limited to 65 students for the whole school. However, that number could change if the school has enough room to offer more students a seat in the program, Davis-Wilson said.

“We want to make sure that we’re offering a quality program,” she said.

If there are more applicants than seats available in the program, a computer-generated lottery will be used to select students. Students not selected in the lottery will be randomly assigned a number and be placed on a waitlist, according to the OCPS magnet programs website.

Applications for the visual and performing arts magnet at Maxey Elementary will open the school year prior to the magnet’s opening. 

For more information visit, schoolchoice.ocps.net. Anyone with questions can call (407) 317-3484 or email the OCPS School Choice Magnet Team at [email protected].