Students must currently reside in the Vancouver Public Schools boundary in order to apply during this window. When the entire in-district applicant wait list has been exhausted, then we will contact out-of-district applicants for the next steps.
VSAA makes every effort to maintain the student population of the school. If space becomes available at any grade level during the course of the school year, the waiting list will be reviewed. Invitations to VSAA will be extended on a space-available basis.
Students who wish to participate in sports may do so for a maximum of one sport season (fall or spring only) per school year. They will need to arrange for an early release for the athletic season and may either make up the missed coursework to gain credit in the class or receive a "no credit" [...]
Vancouver Public Schools provides bus transportation for in-district students. Each of the six district middle schools serves as a hub from which sixth- through 12th-graders are transported to VSAA. Routes will return students to their neighborhoods after the school day ends.
There is a waiting list at each grade level based upon the number of applicants and the availability that VSAA can offer. Applicants will stay on the waiting list for one year, after which they need to submit a new application for the next school year.
Our goal is to offer a diverse and comprehensive arts and academics curriculum to each student. We encourage students to make VSAA a seven-year commitment.
We always have a large number of applicants at every grade level. In recent years, we accepted approximately 100 students of the 350 who showed interest at the sixth-grade level. In grades 7-12 there are fewer applicants, but less availability as a majority of VSAA students stay for all seven years.
There are no guarantees for acceptance. Throughout the process, every effort is made to discover students who would be successful in the VSAA culture.
Applicants need to be diligent in getting all components of the application in by the deadline. Please see Dates to Know (scroll up--it's to the right) for important dates. Applicants must attend their assigned interview and workshop activities.
Students will have the opportunity to experience each art form (visual art, dance, literary arts, theatre, moving image arts and music) at an introductory level and advance in subsequent years to a higher level.