Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 is a Creative and Performing Arts Magnet school located in the heart of Pittsburgh's downtown cultural district. In 2009, CAPA was awarded the Blue Ribbon as a school of Distinction by the Department of Education.
The mission of Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 is to provide every student in grades 6-12 with a comprehensive academic program rooted in a superior quality arts education experience that encourages excellence and success in their personal development as artists and cultural leaders. CAPA 6-12 offers a challenging and integrated curriculum that equally provides world-class preparation for college and university study, and conservatory level preparation for artistic careers.
The environment at CAPA 6-12 is enhanced by partnerships and collaborations with local and national cultural organizations and universities that provide opportunities in which to explore the relationships between school, family and work. In 2014, US News and World Report named CAPA in the Top 20 of Best High Schools in Pennsylvania.
Acceptance is based upon an off-site application and completion of a successful audition or presentation of an acceptable portfolio. Students may choose intensive artistic instruction in one of eight art forms: dance, instrumental music, literary arts, piano, production technology, theater, visual arts and vocal music.
CAPA 6-12 offers National Honor Society, Ski Club, CAPA Chronicle (Newspaper), Unicorn (Yearbook), Student Council, all-school musical, Master classes, Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, Amnesty International, intramural sports, African American CAS Council, 6th-8th Grade Athletics (Co-ed Cross Country, Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and Girls Basketball), and Junior National Honor Society. Students have won awards from the Carson Scholars Fund, National Scholastic Writing Contest, Gene Kelly Awards, Music in the Parks Festival, National Choral Competition, City Theatre Young Playwrights Festival, Pittsburgh Public Theatre's Shakespeare Contest, National Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, PMEA, and Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.
Advanced Placement Courses Offered:
Biology, Calculus AB, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, European History, Physics 2, Psychology, Statistics, US History, and World History.
Additional Educational Services:
Learning Support, Speech & Language, Itinerant Hearing and Vision, Autistic Support, Emotional Support, Occupation Therapy and Physical Therapy
In the article Carter discusses his successes and his obligation to the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, being both a Pittsburgh Native and Pittsburgh CAPA Alum, Class of 2010.