Denzel Washington School of the Arts helping students hone their craft in Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- The Denzel Washington School of the Arts in Mount Vernon was founded in 2015. To go there, students have to be good and they have to be smart.
The school provides an inroad to get into the arts and entertainment industry, opening doors they never thought could be opened.
Talent walks these halls
Talent, like student singer Matthew Samuels, is what makes Denzel Washington School of the Arts so special.
"It's just differently, honestly, you come to school and you're just like, 'What am I going to sing today? What am I going to learn today?'" said another student, Leanna Laino.
"They've given us so many opportunities to just grow in our craft in a way that we wouldn't have been able to at other schools," student Kaitlyn Leslie added.
"People say they think of a performing arts school as like 'High School the Musical,' it really feels like that. You'll be in the hallway, hear people singing, doing their thing," student Charlize Ford said.
"Having this name carried around with me to auditions, it's led me to so many rooms and created so many opportunities for me," student Celine Buchanan added.
Taught by the best
With an enrollment around 450 students, you audition to get in, and when you get in, it's not just about making the most of your opportunities, it's also about making the grade. Artistic performance aside, it's still all about the academics.
"It challenges you artistically but also academically, because with this you also learn how to balances classes," said student Madison Govia.
This school gets things done -- from acting, to singing, to jazz band to drum lines, the halls are alive with the sound of music.
"My acting teacher, he went to drama school, he used to actually work on Broadway, and I just find it so interesting getting to hear his story and get his take, and also get that real Broadway acting experience," student Elizabeth DeGrandpre said.
That's one of the many hallmarks of the school -- so many of the teacher are performers themselves, including the principal and the band teacher, GRAMMY nominated music educator Mansa Gory.
"It really kind of sparks a fire in them to see the possibilities if you just, you know, develop your craft and strive to grow," said Gory.
"These are one of those schools where it's like you get here, and it's just like that vibe and that energy, it really wakes you up," Ford said.
"It shows you a future that you might not have seen before, it shows you possibilities that you thought you could never reach, it shows you the potential that you truly have within," said Samuels. "Because I remember I was always afraid to sing."
Looking up to school's namesake
And of course, everybody loves Denzel Washington. The school comes alive when he walks the halls.
"It was quite shocking the first time," Laino said.
"Everyone was really excited. He's come here a few times while I've been here," said Charlotte Watson.
"When he comes, he literally calls kids on the stage, he'll do a Q&A with them intimately, he'll step down into the crowd and he'll talk," Assistant Principal Yvonne Wright said. "So they think, wow, he's so down to earth, he's so relatable and accessible. I think for them it's like, wow, I see this person in the flesh, and I can actually probably be just like him."
Talent is the great equalizer, and it's all around this school.
