The Museum helped develop the visual art component of the academy. The San Diego County Academy of the Arts is funded collaboratively through the remarkable commitment of all program partners. Exploration workshops are presented to seventh and eighth graders during the regular school day, for example, as part of language arts or physical education classes. They are scheduled so all students at a grade level participate. The exploration sessions give teaching artists the opportunity to identify and encourage a student's emerging interest or artistic potential.
Students receive personal invitations to the after school academy classes.
Invitations are given to all students who express interest in attending the Arts Academy, to those who have been identified because of artistic responses in the exploration workshops and to those recommended by classroom teachers. Application and acceptance to the program requires student commitment to attendance and behavior standards that allow all participants to focus on the creative work. Students in academy classes continue the creative exploration process and work toward skill development unique to the art form. Dance students, for example, use movement to explore the elements of dance, and they collaborate in creating original dances. Parents are invited to attend information meetings prior to the start of the first class series.