Specialties
Beacon Charter High School for the Arts develops artistic thinkers by nurturing self-expression while preparing our graduates with the academic skills necessary for sustained postsecondary success.
Student artists from across Rhode Island identify a major of Culinary, Visual, or Theatre Arts and take courses in their major throughout their four years of high school.
History
Established in 2003.
n September 2003, Beacon became Rhode Island's tenth charter school. Jack Lawhead and Paul Collette developed this original concept of combining the arts and quality education. They had worked tirelessly for thirty years to make their dream a reality.
Beacon began with 49 students in grades 9 and 10. The following year, 2004-2005, the school added 11th grade and increased enrollment to 111.
In 2006, Beacon celebrated its first graduating class of 21 students. In September 2009, we fully occupied the facility and reached full enrollment of 225 students. That October, our juniors scored the highest of any district in the state on the NECAP Reading Test. The following year, Beacon outscored the state average on every NECAP assessment.
Since that time, test scores have remained consistently among the highest in the state, particularly in reading and writing.
in 2013, the school celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Meet the Manager: Michael S.
Michael Skeldon has been at Beacon since 2004, serving as its Principal since 2011. After earning his B.A. in Secondary Education from Rhode Island College, he worked for the next decade in social services and proprietary education in Rhode Island and California. While on the West Coast, he earned an M.A. in Mass Communications with a concentration in Screenwriting from California State University, Northridge. In 2001, he returned to his roots in Rhode Island. Initially hired at Beacon as a social studies teacher, he also designed Beacon's innovative Capstone film project. As Academic Dean from 2005-2011, he refined the project and developed the school's digital portfolio system. In 2011, he met all principal certification requirements. A year later, he earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Johnson and Wales University. He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and proudly represents Beacon at the RI League of Charter Schools.