About |
Welcome to the Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, founded in 1989!
At Harrison School for the Arts, we provide an arts education that is second to none. Nestled within the boundaries of Imperial Polk County, among a population of 78,452, we are committed to academic excellence in the arts and traditional academic subjects.
Harrison is a community of artists, teachers, and scholars providing opportunities for talented students to develop their abilities to the fullest extent. We embrace our responsibility to create an innovative learning environment that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Our faculty and staff are instilling self-discipline, self-esteem, and a working knowledge of and greater appreciation for the arts for each of our students.
Our expansion/renovation, in 2009, marks an important milestone in our school's history. It ensures that our students and future Polk County generations have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential in the arts.
Harrison's commitment to generations of creative students is exemplified in our quality programs, including Dance, Music (Choral, Jazz, Piano, Symphony), Musical Theatre, Theatre, Technical Theatre, and Visual Arts.
Teaming is vital to the success of all of our programs. Faculty, staff, parents, students and community advocates partner together ensuring synergistic results of immeasurable quality. Therein lies a notable strength of the Harrison School for the Arts - a nurturing support system credited to fostering creativity for a lifetime!
Our graduates have attended such prestigious post-secondary institutions as Harvard, The Cooper Union, Eastman School of Music, Southern Methodist University, New York University, Manhattan School of Music, DePaul University, and Princeton to name just a few. Harrison alumni have gone on to star in major Broadway productions, be featured on network television programs, pursue roles in professional dance companies, and many are practicing artists. Whether lighting up the stages of Broadway, teaching the arts in schools, or the field of engineering - all of our students contribute significantly to the communities they serve.
As we look to the future of Harrison School for the Arts, I invite you to learn more about how you can become part of the Harrison tradition and join our distinguished alumni in providing artistic leadership for the 21st century. On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of our school, I invite you to visit and tour our various program offerings. Tours are scheduled on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Please feel welcome to contact me at 863-499-2855 or craig.collins@polk-fl.net.
Sincerely,
Craig S. Collins, principal
Harrison School for the Arts