Perpich Center for Arts Education: Difference between revisions
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; All campus buildings are connected by underground tunnels. : A myth. The main building and Gaia were once thought to be connected by a small crawl space due to the fact that an underground hot water pipe melted a swath of snow, but this is untrue. |
; All campus buildings are connected by underground tunnels. : A myth. The main building and Gaia were once thought to be connected by a small crawl space due to the fact that an underground hot water pipe melted a swath of snow, but this is untrue. |
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; [[Prince (artist)|Prince]] was one of the school's founders and performed at the school in its early days. : Myth. |
; [[Prince (artist)|Prince]] was one of the school's founders and performed at the school in its early days. : Myth. |
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; People at Perpich do a lot of drugs. : True. |
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==Location== |
==Location== |
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Revision as of 18:17, 26 June 2006
The Perpich Center for Arts Education (PCAE) is an agency of the State of Minnesota that is dedicated to improving K-12 arts education for all Minnesota students and educators through innovative programs and partnerships centered in the arts. A 30-acre 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 the premier resource for arts education in Minnesota.
The Arts High School is an innovative, 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 grade year. AHS is the leading public arts-centered high school in the state. With enrollment limited to 310 students, AHS offers the benefit of learning in a small community while allowing students to take advantage of wonderful arts resources in the Twin Cities.
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 and across-the-aisle compromise, 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 in the areas of dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts, many of whom have gone on to top ranked colleges and conservatories across the country.
Noted Alumni
- Sean Tillmann (Har Mar Superstar) (1995), singer
- Erik Kenward (1995), writer for Saturday Night Live
- Jordis Unga (2000), contestant on Star Search and Rock Star: INXS
- Karin Jacobson (1991), jewelry designer
Myth or Fact?
- The center is shutting down/has shut down/might shut down.
- Myth! The Perpich Center receives funding from the state Legislature every two years and so far it is still running strong, thanks to support from state legislators and the thousands of Minnesota citizens served by PCAE.
- The Arts High School is a private/charter/magnet school.
- All myths. The school is a tuition-free public school that receives its appropriation directly from the State of Minnesota every biennium.
- The campus used to be a Lutheran school.
- True! 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 Alpha and Beta dormitories that are no longer in use. (Incidentally, those dorms still feature prayer rooms with kneelers!)
- Blues musician Jonny Lang attended the Arts High School.
- An endearing chestnut, but, unfortunately, myth.
- All campus buildings are connected by underground tunnels.
- A myth. The main building and Gaia were once thought to be connected by a small crawl space due to the fact that an underground hot water pipe melted a swath of snow, but this is untrue.
- Prince was one of the school's founders and performed at the school in its early days.
- Myth.
Location
The Perpich Center is located within the city of Golden Valley: 6125 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, MN 55422. The Perpich Center can be contacted by phone by calling (763) 591-4700 (Twin Cities) or 800-657-3515.