In 1993 Perkins received a grant from the Federal Government. The purpose of
this grant was to ensure the future of integration at Perkins, an inner-city
school. At this point we began to design our Arts and International Studies
program. We hired teachers after a long and complicated interview process.
Approximately 200 teachers were interviewed as we looked for high-quality
classroom and arts teachers. Many of those original teachers are still
teaching at Perkins. Our magnet school opened in September of 1993. We still had zoned students bused to us to guaranteed attendance in the new program. By the second year we no longer needed students zoned and bused because we had enough application students to fill the school and many on the waiting list. Perkins is not a school within a school. All students at Perkins are considered magnet students without consideration of how they came to Perkins. Some are neighborhood students, some are placed by the district office for special needs, and the rest are application students. We do not have artist criteria. We believe that all students have a gift in some area of the arts, be it music, art, theatre, dance, violin, drums, or quickly grasping a new language. It is then up to the adults to help them find their gift.
The only major change, since we began in 1993, is the wonderful new school that was built for us to house the program that has become so popular. We moved in August of 2000. We now have a lovely dance studio, wonderful theater, Spanish rooms filled with Spanish technology, Spanish books, music and food, four music rooms to house general music, keyboard lab, violin and band, a black-box theater, an outdoor amphitheater and a multipurpose room with a large stage.
|