thomas Carlson Retires After 35 Years at Perpich

thomas Carlson, English Instructor

August 13, 2024

thomas Carlson, English Instructor, is retiring from Perpich after 35 years of service. His last day at Perpich is Tuesday, August 13th. thomas started at Perpich in the 1989-1990 school year.

When asked to reflect on his time at Perpich, thomas offered this: “Many people who’ve experienced Perpich have amazing stories of serendipity telling what brought them here. Mine is one of those.

In the early 90’s, I used my college loan to backpack through parts of Europe and Egypt, taking a break from classes at the University of Minnesota and cooking at a vegetarian restaurant in Minneapolis. When I returned, I knew I wanted to see more of the world and, finally, get the license that would enable me to teach high school English. Even as a kid I knew that teaching was a high calling, and to work with young people and literature and big ideas seemed inevitable.

On the first evening of classes for my teaching license at St. Thomas, I met Martha O’Brien. She became a good friend, but she also happened to live next door to Wally Kennedy who happened to be one of the original program directors at the new Minnesota Center for Arts Education who, a few years later, happened to be hiring for a new evening teaching position. After talking to Martha, he happened to call me for an interview and then offer me the job. 35 years later, my time at Perpich is done and I’m looking ahead to what is next.

Perpich has been my second home for 35 years. It feels like part of my DNA, and I know many students know just what I mean. My work here and my relationships have made me who I am, an openly queer man with a deep and rich family life, a community member committed to equity, and a well-traveled life-long learner who has gleaned much more about self and community and meaning from my students than I could ever have taught them. It’s true, the best way to learn is to teach and my time at Perpich has not felt like a job, but a lifestyle.

So young people, if you are looking for work that enriches and gives life meaning, consider teaching. There has not been a single day of my career when I doubted that I was doing the most important job in the world. Every one of my 35 years at Perpich has felt like a gift and every relationship an honor. If I’ve helped student’s see the beauty and possibility within themselves, just as they’ve shown me mine, I retire with overwhelming joy and gratefulness.

My grandmother used to say when we left after a visit, ‘Don’t say goodbye; just say, ‘So long.’

So long, Perpich, and thank you and don’t be a stranger. I will be cheering you all on from somewhere in the world.”

Dr. Kevin Lally, Literary Arts & English Instructor, said, “While I only had the chance to work with thomas for a few years, he and I became quick friends. I appreciated his generosity with students, his mentorship, and his unwavering dedication to justice. He embodied what Perpich has meant to a generation of students. While his work will continue to impact hundreds of lives, his presence in the building will be missed.”

thomas carlson (he/they) was born in Hibbing, MN, raised in Quebec, Canada, and educated in Minneapolis. He is a founding member of the Perpich Arts High School. Many experiences shaped his pedagogy including a loving family and partner of 30 plus years, travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and camping in national and state parks and forest across the lower 48 and Alaska. Years of formal education include many conferences and networks but one, especially, was foundational. Through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, he participated in a one-month residency program studying Shakespeare “through performance” in Ashland, Oregon, the site of the country’s oldest and largest Shakespeare festival. A founding member of the Minnesota School OUTreach Coalition, he helped conceive and organize statewide conferences for queer youth and their allies. Later, he was awarded a grant to take Perpich students to the White Privilege Conference in Memphis, TN, and then became part of the leadership team which brought this international, anti-racism conference to Minnesota in 2011. In 2013, he worked with Breaking Free, a nonprofit organization combating sex trafficking through education and services to women, to host the Demand Change Project conference in St. Paul, MN. Most recently, he was a founding member of the Education Minnesota’s Racial Equity Advocates program. Through this program, he co-creates materials and travels the state leading professional development workshops for teachers focused on racial equity, cultural competency, and intersectionality. The work of equity and young people has been at the center of thomas’ life and identity. He is ever grateful to the thousand (and more) evolved, empathetic, and generous young artists who have studied with him. Thanks to them, thomas continues to learn how much he doesn’t understand but also how to be a better accomplice in building a more equitable world.

We thank thomas for his dedication and years of service and wish him the best of luck in this next adventure!