Parents, Guardians, and Artists,

My name is Dr. Samuel Parrott and I am the Fine Arts Director and Assistant Principal for the McCallum Fine Arts Academy. We are beginning our recruitment process for the 2025-2026 school year and wanted to get as much information out to you as possible. 

The McCallum Fine Arts Academy offers 11 areas of advanced study in Band, Choir, Cinematic Arts, Classical Guitar, Collaborative Piano, Collegiate Preparatory Dance, Color Guard, Orchestra, Performance Theatre, Technical Theatre, and Visual Arts. Students pursuing a Major in one of these areas are given advanced opportunities in their art, as well as additional supports throughout their high school career. Students enrolled in the McCallum Fine Arts Academy are supported through their academic journey and predominantly earn a spot in the top 10% of their graduating class. Since McCallum High School is a traditional, comprehensive high school, all students have access to courses provided within our Fine Arts Department, but Academy students have advanced access to courses and access to courses designed specifically for our Academy students. There are so many great benefits to being a Fine Arts Academy Major and we are excited to have your artist participate in this year's application and audition process. 

The process for application, audition, and registration can feel overwhelming, but we are here to help support you through the process. Below is quite a bit of information, but there are many supports available to help make your experience as smooth as possible.

Opportunities for More Information

October 18th- Parent Information Zoom Call (Register Here)

October 21, 25, November 5, and 13- Academy School Tours 9:30-10:30AM (Sign Up Link Here)  ***Space is limited***

Application Process

November 6th- Enroll Austin Application Opens (Application Link Here). 

Our auditions occur before the application closes, so please have the application complete before January. 

The application process is through Enroll Austin, which is a district program. Application can feel tricky, but if you follow the steps, it will be much easier. We will talk more about this at the information session and Showcase. 

Steps for Application:

1. Enroll Austin 

   1. Demographic Information

   2. Select up to 7 programs to which you would like to be considered

      1. McCallum's programs are listed as McCallum High Schoo- Fine Arts Academy: Major Area of Study

      2. Each of these is one of the seven available spaces

   3. Rank those programs in the order in which you would like to be enrolled 

      1. Enroll Austin runs on a "top choice available system," where your highest ranked school that also marks you as eligible for a seat will be selected. Please be careful in how you rank the programs.

   4. Letters of Recommendation will be under "Next Steps" after you submit the Enroll Austin Application. You will need 3 email addresses for a Math/Science, English/Social Studies, and a Fine Arts teacher. The system will send them a recommendation form. 

2. Academy Audition Form

3. Review and understand the Audition Requirements, Rubric, and Deadlines (linked below)

Opportunities for Audition Support

November 7th- Fine Arts Academy Showcase (Open to students and parents to see all of the offerings of our programs)

November 8th/9th- Audition Workshops (Register Here)

Scholarships are available to any student to participate in our Audition Workshop. The Fine Arts Academy will never restrict access due to financial reasons. 

Please take advantage of all our opportunities for students to prepare for their auditions. We recommend spending at least 2 months preparing for the auditions, as well as reading through the rubric and requirements to better understand the expectations. 

Useful Links

Audition Requirements

Audition Rubrics

Recruitment Slideshow

Audition Dates

While we don't try and modify dates, there are some that may change, so please check back regularly to ensure that dates are the same. We will post any date changes at least a week before the events. 

If you have any questions about specific audition requirements, please reach out to our individual teachers. If you have questions about the application process, please reach out to Dr. Samuel Parrott at samuel.parrott@austinisd.org

We are excited that your artist is working towards becoming a McCallum Knight and a member of the Fine Arts Academy!

Dr. Samuel Parrott, Ph.D.

Fine Arts Director and Assistant Principal

McCallum Fine Arts Academy