About Us
The award-winning Booker High School Visual and Performing Arts is the premiere pre-professional arts education in Sarasota, Florida. Students study one of six disciplines: Dance, Film & Animation, Music, Production & Design, Theatre, and Visual Art.
Highly qualified faculty, state-of-the-art studios and facilities, and intensive training and performance activities combine to create a unique environment that nurtures young artists for their future.
The Booker High School VPA offers a rich season each year with performances and events that are sure to dazzle our audiences.
We Educate the Whole Child
Located in Sarasota, Florida’s “Art and Cultural Center,” Booker High School is a comprehensive learning facility inhabiting a $58-million state-of-the-art campus. The smallest comprehensive high school in the Sarasota County District, Booker has the lowest student-to-teacher ratio and offers individualized, differentiated instruction.
Booker is home to the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) program, which offers rigorous, pre-professional training in the arts in five disciplines: Dance, Digital Film & Motion Design, Music, Theatre, and Visual Art. Some notable graduates of the VPA are American Idol semifinalist, and Broadway and film actress Syesha Mercado, Oscar-winning film make-up artist Bill Corso, and NBC’s “Chicago Fire” star Charlie Barnett.
Our Other Signature Programs
In addition to the VPA, Booker High School is proud to offer the Cambridge University AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) program. The AICE curriculum includes college preparatory courses in English language arts, the sciences, mathematics, history, and the humanities, and students can earn college credit, as well as an internationally recognized AICE diploma, through successful completion of the courses and their end-of-course-exams.
Booker also offers Dual Enrollment courses through an articulation agreements with State College of Florida. These courses allow students to earn college credit while in high school. Find out more about this academic offering here.
Booker High School is home to diverse program offerings, including our Law Academy, a magnet program designed to educate high school students about the judicial and criminal justice systems.
College and Career Planning
Booker High School is the only comprehensive high school in Sarasota County with a full-time college and career adviser, and is a proud member of the international mentoring club, College For Every Student (CFES). College and Career Readiness is a central focus of Booker High School, and our staff dedicate their time and expertise to helping students find the right post-secondary plan for them. Booker High School’s College and Career website is an excellent resource for post-secondary planning.
Opportunities abound for students who choose to come to Booker High School, and enrollment at the school is available through the County’s School Choice program (with a window opening in February) as well as through its magnet programs: the VPA, AICE, and the Law Academy. All students will register for Booker High School through the county’s snapcode platform.