We Are Creators!

Young girl holding paint brushes in front of her face

The Charles Burrell Visual & Performing Arts Campus is the artistic flagship of Aurora Public Schools for aspiring young creators and creatives in grades K-12 who want an arts- integrated education that offers intensive experience in dance, stagecraft, music, film production, visual arts, and digital arts.

Students are immersed in comprehensive arts programs and rigorous academics so that they are ready to pursue creative careers or college degrees. Extensive performances and exhibitions give students opportunities and platforms to display their talents so that they become confident and develop their artistic potential. Our inspiring faculty who are practicing artist/educators work with students individually and encourage intellectual and artistic curiosity so that students work toward advanced levels of creative and artistic professionalism. Our diverse and talented staff and students create a community of shared passion, diverse perspectives, knowledge, skills, and professional expertise where students develop self-awareness and become well-rounded artist-scholars.

Our students graduate with a creative mindset and the skills to pursue advanced education, artistic training, or a wide range of career paths so that they can thrive in today’s changing artistic world.

What an arts-integrated education looks like

An arts-integrated curriculum ensures that students with a passion for the arts are truly engaged in core content. Through an arts-integrated lens, students experience literacy, math, science, and social studies in a creative and inquiry-based way.

In addition to their core curriculum, students in grades K-8 are exposed to a greater variety of arts disciplines than a traditional school. In our high school pathway, students are able to major in a specific art specialty where they can truly engage in developing the skills that will empower them to continue that career path after graduation.

Campus Experience

K-8

Kindergarten-8th Grade Curriculum

Students at Burrell Arts K-8 engage in an arts-integrated, standards-aligned core curriculum in a small school environment. Students also receive 90 minutes of dedicated daily arts instruction through our Art Studios. Art Studios available to the student include:

Visual Arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, jewelry)

Media Arts (graphic design, video game creation, film)

Design Arts (maker space; robotics; costume/set design)

Theater Arts (acting, musical theater)

Dance Arts (ballet, modern, hip hop, jazz)

Musical Arts (vocal, instrumental)

More About the K-8 Experience

9-12

9-12 Grade Curriculum

To be considered for the pathway, students will have to go through an application, interview, and audition process.

Students entering the 9th-grade pathway will receive an arts-integrated, standards-aligned core curriculum. Students are required to major in multimedia arts or performing arts. Under each major, students choose a field of study that we call, Creative Labs. Our labs give students a space for creative experimentation.

More About the 9-12 Experience