How many fashion/design/art districts in the world can boast a nationally-celebrated senior high school on their doorstep. Not too many. The Miami Design District is the home to the Design and Architecture Senior High School (called DASH), ranked by US News and World Report as the 15th best public high school in the nation (2009) and the 16th best last year.
With direct access to haute couture boutiques, architectural and applied design firms, contemporary art galleries and non-profit spaces, the students at DASH are naturally poised to take on even the most competitive fields of arts and design once they graduate (as 95% of each class does). While they are in school, they are provided with immersive education in areas such as entertainment technology, architectural/interior design, visual communications, web design and fashion design that are directly integrated into the folds of the standard curriculum. As yet another testament to the crucial role the arts plays in a child's educational development, DASH had set an example for other magnet/arts high school programs from the day it opened in 1990 by former principal Jacqueline Hinchey-Sipes. It was she who first uttered the school's motto, 'Education by Design.' The late Hinchey-Sipes, whose life was cut short in 1995 in an auto accident, was an arts advocate, educator and gallerist who fostered creativity for students, artists and designers who came to Miami seeking elevated opportunities. The Dade Arts Educators Association created an arts advocacy award in her honor.
Distinguished alumni from DASH include contemporary artists Adler Guerrier (a partner at the Downtown non-profit space Dimensions Variable), Daniel Arsham (founder of art/design firm Snarkitecture, design collaborator with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and chairman at local artist residency Cannonball), and designers Esteban Cortazar (head of fashion development for fashion house Emanuel Ungaro, Paris) and Duane Lawrence (Nike collaborator who created a signature pair of sneakers for Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade). It is likely that this roster will continue to expand as successive classes coming from the halls of DASH continue to take on the world...whatever challenges it has to offer.
DASH (Design and Architecture Senior High School) is located in the Miami Design District, 4001 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida. Tel: (305) 573-7135, Fax (305) 573-8253, Principal: Dr. Stacy Mancuso. DASH is a Florida Magnet school, entry is granted by audition only. Magnet office info: https://teachers.dadeschools.net/nbritton/
