Advanced Academics and Fine Arts Academy
Applications for the 2025 - 2026 school year are now available. The application link can be accessed via Forney ISD's Academies website.
Attending the AAFAA
As part of our advanced academics programming, potential students must show a need for academic enrichment. Students who are not meeting minimum grade level expectations are not eligible to enroll in AAFAA.
Once accepted, students will be fully transferred to the AAFAA school for their grade level. Currently, there is no bus service for students in the AAFAA program unless the AAFAA school is also the student's zoned school. There is also no additional expense to attend AAFAA, but there may be times where students need to attend rehearsals outside of the school day.
2024 - 2025 AAFAA Parent and Student Handbook
Watch the video below for an overview of the program. Click here to check out the AAFAA FAQs. Be sure to submit your question if you do not see it in the document.
Our Story
Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, Forney ISD opened the Advanced Academics Fine Arts Academy (AAFAA) at Blackburn Elementary. In spite of the pandemic and having to function in both in-person and virtual environments (with the expected hiccups along the way), our first year was a resounding success!
In February 2020, select kindergarten & 1st-grade students were invited to apply to the academy based on qualification for GT or advanced academic services. In August of 2020, the academy opened with 132 1st & 2nd-grade students. These students received specialized instruction in fine arts courses, including piano, dance, and theatre. Additionally, students received core academic instruction in an accelerated/compacted environment that is tailored to the young GT/Advanced brain.
In the 4 years since, we have expanded the program to include AAFAA classes at all elementary grade levels as well as our first intermediate class at Smith Intermediate in the fall of 2023. We have also introduced guitar to 5th graders as our 2nd musical instrument and created a new core class that blends reading, writing, and social studies called Humanities.
For general AAFAA questions not addressed in the FAQ document, email Miranda Olson.