Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts

The Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts was founded in 1989 as the premier arts high school in the School District of Palm Beach County, the nation’s eleventh largest school district, serving a county geographically larger than Rhode Island or Delaware. Originally known as the Palm Beach County School of the Arts and located on the northern shore of Lake Mangonia, the name of the school changed in 1997 when local arts philanthropist Alexander W. Dreyfoos, founder of Photo Electronics Corporation, made the single largest private contribution to a public school in Florida. This generous contribution coincided with the school’s much-anticipated move to the newly renovated, historic Central Schools campus in downtown West Palm Beach.