Greetings from Perpich Center for Arts Education!

September is a month of beginnings at Perpich. Students are finding their people, trying new things, and discovering what becomes possible when their ideas are taken seriously. Last week, at the opening of Rumination, our Studio Arts exhibition, a parent helped me see just how much those beginnings can mean.

Allegra Smisek, Executive Director

Her daughter is a new junior, and the parent said it was hard to describe the change she had seen in just one month. Away from the difficult social dynamics and apathy she experienced at her previous school, her daughter’s whole demeanor had become more positive. I’ve been thinking about that conversation ever since. An immersive arts education matters deeply. So does being part of a community where you can be yourself, build relationships, and make art alongside people who value what you bring.

During Minnesota School Board Recognition Month, I’m grateful to our 16 board members for helping us put that experience at the heart of our living strategic directions. Together, we recently sharpened one direction to say: “Elevate arts education statewide through a culture of belonging.” It names both the community we are building at Perpich and the ways we support students and educators across Minnesota.

We build that culture deliberately at Perpich Arts High School. At the start of the year, our partnership with AMAZEworks helps students and staff establish a foundation for belonging. Student leaders help shape advisory experiences, giving their peers a voice in the community they are creating together. At Dedication Day this month, Principal Rebecca Bullen reminded students that Perpich is something they help make through everyday choices that tell one another, “You belong here. Your voice matters.”

That connection can last long after graduation. At our first virtual alumni gathering this month, graduates from different decades and places across the country shared memories of Perpich and ideas for supporting today’s students. They envisioned mentorship, exhibitions, and career conversations. Their enthusiasm reminded me that belonging can grow into a lifelong relationship, with each generation helping welcome the next.

Our commitment reaches beyond campus, too. Perpich Professional Development and Resources is working with the northeast and northwest service cooperatives to bring arts immersion virtual reality experiences to classrooms across northern Minnesota. Arts experiences can serve as mirrors, helping students recognize their own cultures and stories, and as windows into the lives and perspectives of others. We want more students, wherever they live, to have opportunities for both.

The parent I spoke with at Rumination gave me a vivid picture of what this strategic direction asks of us. We want students to experience that kind of belonging at Perpich, and we want to help educators create welcoming, creative classrooms across Minnesota. We make it real through the relationships we build and the opportunities we open for one another.

With gratitude,

Allegra Smisek
Executive Director | Perpich Center for Arts Education