At last night’s board meeting Dan Larson gave this very moving testimony about the links between Crosswinds and Perpich.

As a parent of both Crosswinds and Perpich students and a teacher in a former EMID district, I feel I have a unique perspective to share about the impending Perpich proposal and my enthusiasm for its possibilities.

As an educator, I recognize the academic success that Crosswinds has accomplished. In the two of the past four years, Crosswinds has surpassed the state average in graduation reading scores for the state. This is quite the accomplishment considering a free and reduced lunch rate hovering around 50 percent.

But the soul of Crosswinds is its culture of inclusion. It is a unique culture that I have not witnessed in any other environment in 20 years of teaching. Students do not segregate themselves by skin color, activities, or the clothes their wear. They are a blend of backgrounds that have been guided into one cohesive family by an outstanding staff and program.

I know this because before my son came to Crosswinds, he was described as socially awkward, odd, different, and all buzzwords you read or hear on the news describing young men doing unimaginable things. He was required to have a full time paraprofessional; we were informed that his teacher did not feel safe around him, and we were asked to supply our own mode of transportation to after school church activities because of parent concerns.

We came to Crosswinds as our last hope. At the end of his sixth grade year and first year at Crosswinds, it was time for his annual IEP meeting. The school made the recommendation that he be removed from his IEP because he did not exhibit the issues and behaviors that were documented in our home district. I believe that staff had worked a miracle.

At Crosswinds, he was accepted and was introduced to a curriculum that was innovative and rich with arts and rigor. After finishing at Crosswinds, he was accepted at the Arts High School at the Perpich Center for the Arts. There he has received an academic and art instruction that is unparalleled, and recently, he has been accepted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago which is regarded as one of the top art schools in the country. These schools changed his life, and I will be eternally grateful.

With this in mind, I believe these schools are a perfect match for each other. Their arts focus gives students with the desire to create an avenue and expert instruction. There is not a football or hockey team to overshadow their accomplishments. They are valued and validated every day through curriculum and programing. By giving the building to another, it would be just another school with a focus that could change the next time a new superintendent is hired, or if he or she reads a book or attends a conference on the next initiative in education. The unique programming and the school’s soul would be lost.

I encourage the board to do what is best for our children that are creative and vote to continue the schools culture, mission–and yes, soul–by approving the transfer of governance to Perpich Center for Arts Education. Thank you.