Theater Guild, Booker T. Washington Magnet School

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is the first institution in the Dallas Arts District and the only school. There are no cheerleaders, no football team, no basketball team, and no pep rallies. The building was built in 1922 as the first African American high school in Dallas. 

The Dallas magnet system evolved from a court order on desegregation in 1976. Dallas Public Schools met specific needs to educate gifted artists with both the potential and aspiration for careers in the arts by establishing BTWHSPVA as a school solely dedicated to this mission. Gallery space and studios were added as a new wing. 

Since its inception, BTWHSPVA has received national acclaim as a prototype for subsequent magnet schools throughout the United States and Canada through its membership in the "Network for Performing and Visual Arts Schools". In 1994, BTWHSPVA was named a Mentor School by the Texas Education Agency and in 1995 was named a Texas Blue Ribbon School by the Department of Education.

The school's dual emphasis on arts and academics typically produces a stellar list of famous graduates including: R&B vocalist Erykah Badu; jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove; members of the gospel group "God's Property;" dancer Jay Franke; cellist John Koen; visual artists Chris Schumann and Chris Arnold; drummer Aaron Comess; Edie Brickell of the "New Bohemians", as well as Grammy Award winner, Norah Jones.

The theater guild supports students in the theater conservatory throughout the school year by providing meals during afterschool rehearsals, financial assistance in technical and other aspects of show production, and, most importantly, by paying for talented students of lesser financial means to attend summer conservatories and travel to college auditions that would otherwise be cost prohibitive. In sum, it supports young artists in pursuing opportunities their talent has earned them.