It’s hard to believe that the High School for Performing and Visual Arts opened its doors 50 years ago. I don’t know if that first class in 1971 included all four years of high school, or if 1971 was freshmen only. If so, the first graduating class was in 1975. As far as I can tell, HSPVA was part of Houston Independent School District’s attempt to avoid bussing. It was a magnet school hoping to “integrate” by virtue of attracting students of all races who were interested in the arts. But it has become a legendary school in Houston. It is the kind of school I would have loved to have attended, but I was not in HISD—I was in a suburban school district called Spring Branch Independent School District. I didn’t even know it existed until I got to college. But I was in love with the
50 Years of HSPVA
50 Years of HSPVA
50 Years of HSPVA
It’s hard to believe that the High School for Performing and Visual Arts opened its doors 50 years ago. I don’t know if that first class in 1971 included all four years of high school, or if 1971 was freshmen only. If so, the first graduating class was in 1975. As far as I can tell, HSPVA was part of Houston Independent School District’s attempt to avoid bussing. It was a magnet school hoping to “integrate” by virtue of attracting students of all races who were interested in the arts. But it has become a legendary school in Houston. It is the kind of school I would have loved to have attended, but I was not in HISD—I was in a suburban school district called Spring Branch Independent School District. I didn’t even know it existed until I got to college. But I was in love with the