Lights on! Welcome Back Puffins!
By: Luigi Avila and Lukas Baxter
Edited by: Harper Bell-Kimbro
Welcome Home!
We are back! As students return to the hallways of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a new school year begins with well-known challenges: long rehearsals, classes, performances, and the constant balancing act between academics and the arts. Every student experiences challenges during high school, but at DASOTA in particular, these challenges are amplified.
When asked what challenges they faced in prior years, Avery Zenner, a Junior at DA replied “Balancing my needs with my art and with my academics.” his is something that every DA student has had to come to terms with. Unfortunately, there is no fix all answer, especially with how rigorous this school is, it becomes harder to effectively balance every aspect. Each student must keep trying things until they find the strategy that works for them.
For new students, DA can be intimidating. For returning students, the first day brings a familiar feeling of just how much work goes into being a student artist, compared to other schools. From spending hours rehearsing after school to completing assignments late at night, DA students are constantly learning how to balance two demanding worlds.
We interviewed Mr. Cook, one of the vocal teachers at DA. When asked how long an average workday is, including after school rehearsals, he responded that “It really depends on the week. There are lots of 12 plus hour days. We have a very active calendar that frequently requires evenings and weekends.”
But what keeps students coming back? For many, it is the community, the opportunities, and the experiences that make the hard work worth it at the end.
Zenner later says what keeps her coming back is “The opportunities, the training, and especially it’s the people. I find that I thrive best when I am happy around the people that care about me and value me because me and my parents found out that at my last school in middle school my grades were tanking because of bullying. [Then] once the bullying stopped, my grades were better; so, I feel being in a positive environment really helps and DA is great, it’s an amazing positive environment.” The community DA builds is unlike any other high school. There is a higher sense of community from the hours spent daily perfecting students’ art.
DA 101
New to DA? Whether you're entering as a freshman or joining us later in your high school career, you probably have questions about what life at an arts school is actually like. From opportunities to perform to create, to the community students build, DA offers experiences that can be difficult and extremely different to find at other schools.
When asked what they wished they knew their first month at DA, Mr. Cook responded “I wish I knew what systems worked, what procedures and policies worked, and best practices for implementing them. Unfortunately, that’s an ever-changing process that teachers have to adapt constantly. Each year I come back I learn a new way to deal with an old problem.” Zenner responded “Everybody here deserves to be here. Everybody has room to grow. Sure, there are different scales and levels, like somebody might be a really, really great dancer, but they still need to grow on their vocals and their acting. While someone might be a really great singer, but they’re not the best dancer and still need to learn the basic techniques. So: everybody here has room to grow. I remember my first week here I was crying because I felt so intimidated by everybody and all their talent, but a great senior, MiGracious Grant, she told me that everybody here’s going to have talent, everybody here deserves to be here as much as you do, and you know that because you’re here right now. And, that was the best advice I’ve ever gotten from someone.”
Another struggle common to many teens, but specific to DA is social interaction. Brin Fonner, a junior at DA said “I have dealt with friendship struggles and being a bit too much of a people pleaser.”
Despite all these challenges, students continue to find value in their time at DA. The opportunities, relationships, connections, growth, and experiences students gain here can shape both their high school years and what they pursue after graduation.
Mr. Cook highlighted that “The students deserve what I believe to be the best arts education in the southeast. Students deserve arts area teachers who are working artists, who know the craft and the business of it, and who are willing to pour into the students.”
Events Checklist
DA has more than 180 performances each year, giving students countless opportunities to showcase their work and giving the community opportunities to experience it. Each performance is led by one of DA's arts areas and brought to the stage by student artists who spend weeks and sometimes months preparing. But the performances are about more than what happens onstage. Teachers, students, faculty, families, alumni, and members of the Jacksonville community come together to support DA's young artists.
When asked about how he has supported his students, Mr. Cook said “Students deserve arts area teachers who are working artists, who know the craft and the business of it, and who are willing to pour into the students. I think my education, my expertise in my field, and my connections to colleagues that these students want to work with in the future help them along the path to success at DA and beyond.”
Performances aren't the only way DA builds community. Events like Showtime, a quarterly pep-rally like styled event, brings students from different arts areas together outside of their respected arts area and gives the entire school an opportunity to celebrate its students and the art they create.
Mr. Cook adds that “I try to live in the moment of every performance. I try to connect with every student during every performance. I want to remind them of their own emotional connection to the art they’re creating.” I think this is the foundation that makes DA what it is, and how the art made here is unlike anything else.
With more than 180 performances and a variety of school-wide events throughout the year, there is always something happening at DA. Whether you're performing, working behind the scenes, or sitting in the audience, getting involved is one of the best ways to experience the school beyond the classroom. Come support your community, and welcome to the 2026-2027 school year Puffins!
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