CoSA
Celebrates 25 Years of Arts Education by Beth Connelly
Later this month, the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) will begin its 25th year of educating emerging artists on the campus of Coronado High School. Or rather, they will begin training student artists in the virtual classrooms which make up secondary education in today’s Corona-virus world. Last March, CoSA’s six conservatories – Classical and Contemporary Dance; Digital Arts; Instrumental Music; Musical Theatre and Drama; Theatre Production, Design, and Management; and Visual Art – took their arts training classes online. CoSA’s professional teaching artists made the transition to the virtual classroom appear seamless, but many hours of planning and research went into the revised lesson plans they brought to their daily sessions. Like students throughout the world, CoSA artists faced the heartache of cancelled performances, recitals, and concerts. But, like artists everywhere, CoSA’s students and faculty have continued to create and take inspiration wherever they can in these challenging times. CoSA began with the vision and passion of one woman. In the mid-1970s, a young English teacher relocated to Coronado and began her career at Coronado High School (CHS) with a newly-minted teaching credential and a passion for the arts. Kristine McClung had grown up as a Marine Corps “brat,” a lifestyle familiar to many students in the Coronado Unified School District. Her parents, who had backgrounds in the arts, supported her passion for theatre and she was often the instigator in her group of friends for “putting on a show.” By the time she was in the eighth grade she was regularly directing performances outside of school, and wherever the family was stationed, she knew she would find a group of like-minded friends in the arts.
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Coronado Magazine
