On June 1, 2023, the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half-Day Program was recognized with the Arts Schools Network (ASN) 2023 Outstanding Arts Schools Award. This award is presented to a school with an outstanding record of overall excellence in the categories of faculty and student achievement, community recognition and involvement, arts and academics integration, curriculum innovations, continuing growth and development, and state and national recognition. ASN, the nation’s largest professional membership organization of specialized arts schools, will honor the school at the Awards Ceremony during the ASN 2023 Annual Conference, in Birmingham, Alabama from October 24-26.

The Academy and its parent organization CREC are both institutions of social justice. On a daily basis, the Academy’s young artists refine their craft and use their voices for the expression of social justice through their art form. On May 17, the Academy hosted a day of celebration and reflection on social justice issues. The day was titled “No Justice, No Peace Festival.” The outdoor event spanned the Learning Corridor campus green and featured a wide range of activities

The people have spoken. The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half-Day Program has once again been selected “Best of Hartford 23” in the category of magnet schools.

Courtesy of CT Voice. On any given day at the intersection of Vernon and Washington Streets in Hartford, high school students from all over Connecticut are singing, dancing, acting, performing, playing instruments, creating art, and stagecraft. They’re also learning about something many public schools shy away from teaching: Equity, equality and the history of marginalized people. “We have open conversations about social justice issues, whereas, at some of the schools, it’s like, ‘No, no, no, we don’t talk about that!’” said college-bound senior Cecil Pond of East Granby. “Teachers don’t want to get in trouble.”