Photo courtesy: franksinatraschoolofthearts.org
In 2001, late singer and painter Tony Bennett and his wife, Susan Benedetto, helped open a public high school in New York for students who wanted to pursue the arts alongside their academic studies. It began in temporary quarters with space for 250 students. The idea began in 1999, when Bennett and Benedetto, a former public school teacher, set out to create a public high school that combined serious arts training with a strong academic curriculum, according to the school’s official website .
They can major in dance, drama, film, fine art, vocal music or instrumental music, according to Exploring the Arts. The school’s mission statement says students follow a four-year curriculum designed to prepare them for competitive colleges and conservatories. Twenty-five years later, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, has specialist studios, theatres, a film lab and a concert hall where students can perform and screen their work. The school was named after Frank Sinatra , Bennett’s friend and fellow singer. The move to the permanent building gave students access to dedicated spaces for different art forms. The school’s facilities include two dance studios, two black-box theatres, two fine-art studios, a stagecraft workshop, an art gallery, choral and orchestral studios, private practice rooms and a film lab. It also has an outdoor rooftop performance space. The building was designed to give high school students the opportunity to learn and perform in facilities suited to professional arts production. Its concert hall hosts school musicals, instrumental and vocal performances, dance shows and screenings of films made by students. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts is a public high school where students audition for admission and choose a specialisation. Arts training is combined with academic subjects. The school continues to receive support from Exploring the Arts, which was founded to help sustain its arts programmes and expand opportunities for students. The organisation has since extended its work to public high schools in New York City and Los Angeles. What started as a public high school in temporary quarters now combines academic study with dedicated spaces for dance, theatre, film, visual art and music. Its history reflects Bennett and Benedetto’s stated aim: to make arts education part of public schooling rather than something students must find outside it.
“Because of Tony, these young people have committed themselves to craft and a lifelong pursuit of learning. As reported by local news outlet QNS, Benedetto spoke about what the school meant to the couple after Bennett’s death.
“Tony was so proud of the Frank Sinatra School, proud of the hardworking teachers and school leaders and so very proud of the school’s talented students,” she said. The project was part of Bennett and Benedetto’s wider effort to expand access to arts education in public schools. They also established Exploring the Arts, which supports arts programmes and provides opportunities such as internships and scholarships. Benedetto had worked as a public school teacher before co-founding the school. Her experience in education, combined with Bennett’s career in music and painting, shaped their plan to create a school where students could develop artistic skills without giving up a broad academic education. When asked why the school was named after Sinatra rather than himself, Bennett pointed to his close friendship with the singer. The name was intended as a tribute to the man he considered his best friend and colleague.