The Office of Fine and Performing Arts of the Detroit Public Schools Community District provides equitable opportunities for all learners to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become lifelong creators in the Arts. Our K-12 Arts programs unlock student potential through dance, visual art, theater, and music. By utilizing the wealth of resources and quality instructors in our great city, students are connected with meaningful, student-centered college and career opportunities from a young age. The Detroit Public Schools Community District’s Cultural Passport program, a collaborative initiative between arts industry partners and Detroit Public Schools Community District, brings our students to cultural institutions throughout the city and beyond including; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theater, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. These opportunities enrich the whole child, giving them more experiences for creative thought.

The Office of Fine and Performing Arts serves to meet the growing and evolving needs of our K-12 students to help them achieve personal, collegiate, and career successes. Our sequential K-8 curriculum creates a rigorous platform for students to experience excellence in Arts instruction before their subsequent high school years. Course offerings in beginning, intermediate and advanced level courses in our high schools further prepare students for the creative challenges ahead of them after graduation.  

Art and/or Music is offered at every school.  The following K-8 schools feature an intensive education in the Arts starting in kindergarten.  Students may choose to specialize in 2 arts disciplines by applying to Middle Schools Arts Conservatory housed within each of these schools.

Brenda Scott Academy

Edward ‘Duke’ Ellington Conservatory of Music and Art

John R. King Academic and Performing Arts Academy

Spain Elementary-Middle School

For students who choose a rigorous, college-preparatory Arts curriculum, we offer the Detroit School of Arts. Detroit School of Arts is a nationally renowned Arts and Academic high school that offers a strong college preparatory Academic and Arts Curriculum, with pre-professional study in Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Music Technology, Dance, Theater, Speech, Radio/Television production, Visual Arts and Visual Communications.

Whatever type of learner you are, there is a home for you in Detroit Public Schools Community District. Through our wide course offerings, expanding Arts programs, and Cultural Passport, all students experience the connection to the Arts.

As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) partnered with Detroit Public Television (DPTV) to present the 52nd Annual ‘An Evening of Fine Arts’ as a virtual concert. This event highlights and represents the best of the District’s fine and performing arts for the current school year.