WHO WE ARE

Our Mission

The Mission of the New York City Charter School of the Arts is to inspire a diverse community of young people to engage with the arts as a pathway to rich and rigorous academic scholarship and a creative, purposeful life.

Person in blue sweatshirt writing musical notes on lined paper with a pencil.

Two girls working on craft projects at a table with printed black-and-white designs, with blue storage bins and artwork on the wall behind them.

A young boy looking through a microscope in a classroom.

Our Values

WE CREATE ART TO EXPERIENCE JOY AND SELF AWARENESS IN OUR LEARNING

WE ENGAGE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND LEARN THROUGH DISCOVERY AND PRACTICE.

WE LEARN THROUGH RIGOROUS AND PURPOSEFUL WORK.

WE PERSEVERE THROUGH CHALLENGES AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR GROWTH.

WE THRIVE ON GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

WE TRANSFORM OUR COMMUNITIES AS CREATIVE LEADERS FOR EQUITY, JUSTICE, AND SUSTAINABILITY.

Purple circular design with the word 'create' written repeatedly in a circle, with dots between the words.

Circular teal badge with the words "learn" and "teach" written in white, curved around the edge.

Red circular button with the white text 'thrive' written in a circle around the center, which is blank.

Our Origin

OUR ORIGIN STORY IS GROUNDED IN COLLABORATION.

In 2002, Dr. Geoffrey Kiorpes’ first piano class at a charter school in the Bronx featured kids playing keyboards in a storage closet. Kate Quarfordt’s theater classes debuted the following year in a trailer parked in a lot behind the school. From those humble beginnings, a thriving performing arts program took root.

In 2013 Jamie Davidson joined the school as an instructional leader tasked with boosting academic outcomes. In her new role, she quickly saw the potential of creating an innovative school where the arts and student leadership are not the domain of a particular department, but at the core of the school's mission.

Jamie, Geoffrey and Kate decided to double down on their beliefs about how kids learn best. They teamed up with a talented group of artists, educators, local parents, entrepreneurs and leaders—among them several of their former students—and the dream of City School of the Arts was born.