[3] Teachers of all subjects are encouraged to incorporate the arts into their teaching to maximize student engagement.

Composite test scores from 2009 are in the top 25% in the district among high schools,[4] and exceed the state average.

The primary year for turnover is 9th grade, when many students transfer to other area high schools.

By the 1970s the population of Durham High School had changed from largely white to mostly black.

In May 2005, Durham School of the Arts performed The Laramie Project, a controversial play depicting the murder of Mathew Shepard.

Ten members of Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church came from Topeka, Kansas to protest the show, the actors, and director, Douglas J. Graves.

A $194.2 million bond was proposed to put $15,141,636 towards repairs on the building, which showed signs of aging.

The basement, which now holds electives for all students (including high schoolers at the school), and the third floor, which is now a cafeteria for the 6th and 7th graders, were reopened as well.

[13][14] On August 24, 2017, in addition to prohibiting the Confederate flag, the Board of the Durham Public Schools voted unanimously to remove Carr's name from the building.

The first floor contains classrooms mostly used by the Piano, Chorus, and Visual Art departments, the main cafeteria, and the central and guidance offices.

The second floor consists of the History and Foreign Language departments, as well as some middle-level classes.

The basement houses the Exceptional Children department for students with autism and other cognitive disabilities.

Originally the Black Box was the auto shop when the school was Durham High.

It was named for L. Stacy Weaver, Superintendent of Durham County Schools, who later founded Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C., and served as its inaugural president.

This building has three stories, including a basement, the basketball courts, coach offices and changing areas, and audience seating.

The new building has two stories and a shared basement with Weaver Auditorium, and is 30,968 square feet (2,877.0 m2).

In DSA's garden, called the Big Hearted Garden, there is a memorial in honor of three students, Aaron Morgan and Jonathan Henderson, who died in 2004 and 2006 of heart ailments, and Bennie Vanhook, who was shot and killed in December 2006.

A new campus estimated to cost $108.7 million is planned by 2025 on Duke Homestead Road.

[citation needed] In February 2007, DSA was named and recognized as a national School of Excellence due to their curriculum, diversity, and high standards.

[21] High schoolers have the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

High schoolers also have the option of taking honors level courses in both core classes and electives.