Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, commonly known as DA or DASOTA, is a magnet high school in the

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Saint Mark's Square, that was never admin ...

neighborhood of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, United States. The school opened in 1922 as a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

specifically for African American students. The school is named after a local civil rights activist, Douglas Anderson. In 1985, the school was renovated into a magnet high school specializing in performing,

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (th ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

arts.

Awards

Over the years, the school has accomplished many achievements including becoming a

National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

and receiving awards from the United States Department of Education, International Network of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education and the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

. In December 2009, the school became a Florida Heritage Landmark by the Bureau of Historical Preservation. The ceremony was attended by students and school officials, Anderson's family and the first graduates of the school from 1959.

History

Opened in 1922 as The South Jacksonville Grammar School for grades 1—9, the school was primarily attended by African American students; the only school in the region during that time. In 1945, the school name changed to Douglas Anderson School. During the 1950s, the school became a high school with the mascot of "Fiery Dragons" and in 1959, the school saw its first graduating class with a commencement speech given by Noah Marsh. During the 1960s, the school closed briefly and reopened in 1968 as a campus for Florida Junior College. In 1970, the school closed briefly again and reopened in 1971 as the Douglas Anderson Seventh Grade Center. In 1985, the school opened as Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

Notable alumni

Wes Borland Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the current guitarist and backing vocalist of the rap metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock ...

- guitarist *

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

- guitarist *

Patrick Heusinger Patrick Heusinger (born February 14, 1981) is an American actor, known for his roles on the television series '' Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'', '' Gossip Girl'', '' Royal Pains'' and '' Absentia''. Early life Heusinger was born and raised in ...

- actor * John Otto - drummer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas Anderson School Of The Arts Art schools in Florida High schools in Jacksonville, Florida Educational institutions established in 1985 Duval County Public Schools Public high schools in Florida 1985 establishments in Florida