The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) recently named its fifth floor academic center in honor of Maryland State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick. A long-time supporter of the arts in education, Grasmick assisted in BSA’s capital expansion and renovation project.
“Dr. Grasmick’s early support of the project made it possible to move this unique public and private partnership forward,” said BSA Director Leslie Shepard in a statement. “We feel grateful that Dr. Grasmick has always recognized the BSA’s mission and success in providing BSA students with a rigorous academic program in conjunction with a pre-professional arts training program.”
The project was successfully completed through a unique combination of public funding, which included state school construction funds with a match by the City of Baltimore, Maryland historic tax credits and an economic development grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development totaling $15 million.
As a result of the capital campaign, the school now offers state-of-the-art programs in theater production with its new video/audio/design lab and is able to accommodate more students. Additionally, new facilities that were made possible by the campaign include two new dance studios; ensemble rehearsal and teaching studios for music and theatre; additional keyboard lab; four new academic classrooms, two additional science classrooms/labs; a new lecture hall for student testing, assemblies and lectures; a new physical education facility; a library/media center/computer lab; a digital photography lab; and a music MIDI studio.
For more information, visit www.bsfa.org.
