Finding where you start, not whether you belong
Applying to a Field at RHSA is not a tryout you pass or fail. It is a friendly conversation, called Discovery Adjudication, that helps us place you at the right point in your art form. Every student who wants in has a real way in.
Adjudication does not sort students into yes and no. It finds your right entry point, and everyone leaves with a next step.
Three doors in
Pick the one that fits how you already show up. All three lead to the same placement conversation.
Placement, not pass/fail
- One shot, one performance, one verdict.
- Students with prior training and access have the edge.
- A "no" closes the door for the year.
- The word "audition" scares families away before they try.
- Multiple ways to show us who you are.
- Serious interest counts, even with no prior training.
- Everyone gets a placement and a real next step.
- Most students begin at the 9th grade foundation, together.
Five fields
Performance and dance sports medicine, from foundations up.
2-D, 3-D, and fashion, built on a shared studio foundation.
Acting, musical theater, and technical theater.
Vocal, band, and orchestra, with a clear entry point for each.
Film, studio recording, and literary arts.
What the day actually feels like
A warm welcome, a quick tour, and a friendly face. No cold waiting room, no numbers called.
Audition, show a portfolio, or simply talk about what you love. Your door, your terms.
Two trained educators use the same rubric to find your right starting point, not to rank you.
Every student walks out knowing where they would begin and what comes next. No guessing.
How we launch it
- Spring 2026Draft the rubrics.
Each field defines what readiness looks like, inside the same design sprints already building the courses.
- Spring, soft launchFuture Student Showcase.
We invite feeder middle schoolers in for a mini Studio Sprint, leading with the interests our own students named most: animation, fashion, and film. The panel practices the placement lens on real kids, no stakes.
- Late summer 2026Train the panel.
Every adjudicator is calibrated to one shared equity rubric before a single student is ever evaluated.
- Fall / Winter 2026–27The window opens.
Discovery Adjudication runs like an open studio. We seat a Year 1 cohort sized to staffing, with our neighborhood, in-zone students intentionally represented.
If your child is curious about the arts, there is a door here for them. We will not screen a student out for lacking training they were never given the chance to get.