Perpich Center for Arts Education

The Perpich Center for Arts Education (PCAE) is an agency of the State of Minnesota that works to improve arts education for Minnesota students and educators through programs and partnerships centered in the arts. A 33-acre (130,000 m²) campus in Golden Valley houses the Center's three main components: the Professional Development and Research Group (PDR), Arts High School (AHS) and the PCAE Library. PCAE serves as a resource for arts education in Minnesota.

The Arts High School is a tuition-free public high school delivering a comprehensive education centered in the arts. The school is open to all 11th and 12th grade students who are Minnesota residents. Students apply and audition in their 10th or 11th grade year, in one of six areas:theatre, dance, media arts, visual arts, literary arts, or music. With enrollment limited to 310 students, AHS offers the benefit of learning in a small community while allowing students to take advantage of arts resources in the Twin Cities. Students living in the Twin Cities area often commute each morning, while those from the greater Minnesota area live in dorms on campus.

The Perpich Center successfully navigated a challenging legislative session during the recession of 2009, during which Governor Tim Pawlenty proposed that the Center be converted to a charter school. The Center remains an agency of the State of Minnesota.

History

Former Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich and his wife Lola provided the vision for the creation of the center following an extended stay in Vienna, Austria. Inspired by the seamless integration of arts and academics in Viennese schools, Lola and Rudy worked to create a similar model in Minnesota when Rudy was re-elected governor in 1983. After lengthy debate the idea of an arts high school was expanded to include professional development in arts education available to all Minnesota teachers and a statewide resource library.

The center was established in legislation in 1985 and was titled the Minnesota School of the Arts and Resource Center. Opening as The Minnesota Center for Arts Education (MCAE) in the autumn of 1989, the school opened with junior students who graduated in the spring of 1991. The school has graduated nearly 2,000 alumni, many of whom have gone on to top ranked colleges and conservatories across the country.

The center is located on property that belonged to the Golden Valley Lutheran College and the majority of the Center's buildings were originally part of that school. Some relics from the old school still remain, such as the Beta dormitory that is no longer in use.

The center has not been without controversy. This controversy involves primarily three issues: financial management practices at the Center, the extravagance involved in maintaining an arts high school, and the academic achievement records for the center. A number of reports from the highly esteemed Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor have criticized the Center for poor financial management practices. In a related matter, Minnesota's Governor Tim Pawlenty proposed eliminating much of the funding for the Center to reduce its high costs. Finally, the performance of center students on standardized tests is viewed as problematic given the very high per student costs of the center.

Art areas

Theater

The theater program at Perpich offers a general introduction to theatrical practice, with a primary focus in acting skills. Students gain a working understanding of the Stanislavsky System, with particular emphasis on ensmble performance and physical expression. The program explores both Classical and Contemporary performance theory and practice, including work in musical theater. All students in the program are engaged in class and production work throughout the year. The program is taught by Barbara Morin and Bonnie Bottoms.

Dance

The dance program at Perpich, taught by Mary Harding, is focused mostly on modern dance, with some ballet training. Students are taught improvisation, dance history, criticism, and choreography. Two dance concerts are performed per year, in the winter and in the spring. Although at times the dance department is split between juniors and seniors, more than any other art area the dance departments students spend time in class together regardless of grade.

Music

In the Music department students are broken up into ensembles. They stay with these ensembles for about 6 weeks and then perform what they have either created or covered. Students are also put into Ear Training classes which they are tested into at the beginning of each school year. There are also seminars that students are required to take. Some Seminars are Electronic Music, Counterpoint, Jazz Rock Theory, World Music and Culture, Composition and many others.

The music department staff consists of Aaron Hilden, Janice Hunton, Janika Vandervelde, and James Allen.

Literary Arts

The literary arts program at Perpich is taught by John Colburn and Shannon Hannigan.

In junior year students start out with an intense study and practice of memoir, and then move on to short fiction, eventually creating a research-based, character-driven short story.

In senior year students focus on work in a variety of genres, with a strong emphasis on poetry.

In both their junior and senior years, students are given the opportunity to read selected pieces of their own writing in public readings that are arranged through the school. Literary Students are also encouraged to arrange their own public readings that are not affiliated with the Center.

Several collaborative works have come from the Literary Arts community at the Center, including an anthology independently published by the graduating classes of 2006 and 2007: "Lit Kids: Mama Bird and the Electric Rabbit" (Mill City Press, 2007).

Media Arts

The Media Arts program is taught by Nancy Norwood and Rebecca Bullen with guest artists from the community. The program includes work with digital and traditional photography, computer animation, digital film along with film history and criticism, screenwriting. The department competes annually in national competitions, and the students are required to present work in the community and develop a portfolio for review.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts department is the largest department in the school. It comprises a painting and drawing studio, printmaking studio, ceramics room, computer lab and gallery space. It is taught by Bill Jeter and Karen Monson, and part time by Aaron Anderson. Bill teaches students printmaking and graphic design, and Karen teaches drawing and painting. All students take art history, taught by Craig Farmer.

All juniors are taught painting, drawing, graphic design, printmaking, documentation, portfolio development and art history.

The senior year is a year of electives. Choices include papermaking, oil painting, advanced drawing, stop-motion animation, ceramics sculpture, digital imaging, grant writing, public art, sculpture, jewelry, monotype printmaking, screen printing, and portfolio development.

Noted alumni

• Sean Tillmann (Har Mar Superstar) (1995), singer
• Erik Kenward (1995), writer for Saturday Night Live
• Katherine Gerdes (1999), contestant on Project Runway
• Jordis Unga (2000), contestant on Star Search and Rock Star: INXS
• Anni Rossi, Viola player and musician
• Josette Bynum (1995), Professional Wrestler Total Non-Stop Action (TNA)
• Marlee Leebrick-Stryker (2009), Novelist, author of The Knights Templar

Location

The Perpich Center is located on Olson Memorial Highway in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

External links

• Perpich Center for Arts Education
• MN Music Wiki entry on PCAE
• Project Runway page for Kathrine Gerdes