Category Archives: PCAE

Perpich Center for Arts Education

Help Crosswinds and Perpich Recruit Students this Saturday

Crosswinds will be at table W-7 at the Saint Paul School Choice Fair this Saturday (1/11) from 9:30am-2pm. Please help us by letting your friends know they should stop by our table at the fair! If you have time to help out by volunteering at the table, please contact Mindy Rinkenberger for details. The most important thing we can all do for Crosswinds right now is help Perpich recruit a full house for next year!

Also, the Perpich Arts High School will be having its own information session at 1pm this same Saturday.

If you know of any 10th or 11th graders who are interested in arts-centered education for their last years of high school, please encourage them to check out Perpich Arts High School. We will be hosting our last info session of the year this Saturday (1/11) from 1-3pm at Perpich (6125 Olson Memorial Highway
Golden Valley, MN 55422). You can find out more through the Facebook event.

Your help in spreading the word is much appreciated, as word of mouth continues to be one of the major ways that students find out that Perpich exists as an option for their schooling. Interested students and families can also receive admissions updates by signing up for the Perpich admissions email list. Thank you!

Perpich wins grant for Crosswinds-related project

The Perpich Center for Arts Education has won a $17,900 grant for a project that will leverage work Anna B. has done with the Crosswinds media center and local libraries into a statewide professional development project for literacy equity.

Here is the announcement from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) awards by MDE:

Perpich Center for the Arts – $17,900

“Literacy Equity: Engaging Resourceful Community Knowledge”

Literacy Equity: Engaging Resourceful Community Knowledge will build and reinforce partnerships between school media centers and local community libraries so that both are better able to engage partnerships and resources in response to the emerging needs of their communities and provide targeted outreach to under-served populations. In this professional development project, participants will develop literacies related to improving water quality and building a cross-cultural school community around a particular community need. Participants will learn strategies for identifying and partnering with organizations, individuals and families to build collective literacy about the changing quality of our shared watersheds, and to better understand and share the cultural assets of the school and local communities.

Congratulations to Perpich and Crosswinds!

Chinese students visit Crosswinds

A delegation from China visited Perpich and Crosswinds this week. Take a look at this wonderful post in the Woodbury Patch, “Music reaches across cultures when Chinese students visit Crosswinds Arts and Science School,” to see more pictures and learn more about the visit.

Here is a bonus picture, that also includes a glimpse of the new orchestra teacher and our students playing for the Chinese visitors.

Crosswinds orchestra plays for Chinese exchange visitors

Perpich Arts High School Info Session, Saturday 10/12

If you know of any 10th or 11th graders who are interested in arts-centered education for their last years of high school, please encourage them to check out Perpich Arts High School. We will be hosting the first info session of the year tomorrow, Saturday 10/12 from 1-3 pm at the Arts High School. You can find out more though the facebook event.

For those that wish to attend an info session, but can’t make it tomorrow, there will be two additional sessions on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 11 from 1-3 p.m.

Your help in spreading the word is much appreciated, as word of mouth continues to be one of the major ways that students find out that Perpich exists as an option for their schooling.

Crosswinds Rises!

Not hearing as much from EMID Families this year? Mostly that’s because our schools are in good hands and everyone is hard at work. But today was a special day at Crosswinds and we thought you should know. Here’s how principal Carlondrea Hines put it:

Some Giant Inflatable Thingys took over Crosswinds Arts and Science School this morning and KARE-11 TV was here to cover it for tonight’s news!

Six teams of Crosswinds students and 11th- and 12th-grade mentors from the Perpich Arts High School artscience program in Golden Valley took plastic drop sheets, packing tape, markers, string and scissors to create an amazing array of “Giant Inflatable Thingys” on the plaza and grass in front of our school. Perpich visual arts instructor, Pat Benincasa explained: A giant inflatable thingy is where “Einstein meets Picasso. That’s where art and science ignite into possibility.”

The project was a community-building activity between our students and teachers to honor National Education in the Arts Week and to involve the students in design, problem solving and innovation. The thingys created ranged from giant cubes from the “it’s a cube not a square team,” a 30-foot crayon winning the tallest award, a spectacular waving willow tree, a “plastisaurus gorgeous,” a huge parachute with all its members inside and a monument to “Crosswinds and Perpich United.” As you know, Perpich Center for Arts Education manages both schools as of this school year.

The only rule was that the thingys had to be at least 10 feet tall. They were inflated with large portable blower fans and bounced and waved as the on-looking students and faculty cheered with excitement. State Rep. Joann Ward (Woodbury) and Perpich executive director Sue Mackert served as judges, giving awards for such qualities as widest, tallest and “wow factor.”

Thanks to all the Perpich and Crosswinds staff, faculty and students who made this project so successful! We are still accepting enrollments, so be sure and tell your friends to watch the KARE-11 TV news broadcast tonight to catch a glimpse of our students and their giant inflatable thingys.

Cordially,

Dr. Carlondrea Hines
Crosswinds Principal

Crosswinds Update from Perpich

The team at Perpich preparing Crosswinds for next year wanted you to have this update:

July 30 crosswinds newsletter (PDF)

As we enter the final days of this school year, we look forward to the beginning of the next one. We are encouraged by the enthusiastic support for Crosswinds and are confident our success in the 2013-2014 school year will launch us into a strong, solid future. Crosswinds and Perpich administrative teams are working together to ensure that Crosswinds’ wonderful programming is maintained and that students and staff have a successful transition to the new school year.

Represent Crosswinds at the State Fair!

One of the advantages of Perpich managing Crosswinds is that Perpich is always thinking about getting the word out about its schools. Part of this is visibility at the State Fair, and you can help!

This year they would love to have Crosswinds volunteers for a shift at the fair. If your schedule can’t accommodate a whole shift, they can be flexible. Each shift is also staffed by a Perpich parent, student/alumni and a staff member, but it would great to have a representative of Crosswinds around to talk to the public about the school and to promote it.

The State Fair dates are Thursday, 8/22 to Monday, 9/2. Perpich runs three four-hour shifts each day: 9am-1pm, 1-5pm, and 5-9pm.

Each volunteer can get a free Perpich t-shirt, but Crosswinds volunteers should wear any Crosswinds t-shirts you have around. Volunteers also get free admission to the fair.

If you are interested in volunteering or have questions about this opportunity, please contact Holly Hilgenberg at holly.hilgenberg@pcae.k12.mn.us.

Help us spread the Crosswinds word!

Many families met yesterday with Perpich Director Sue Mackert at Crosswinds. She shared the good news that Crosswinds will be open in the Fall and that it looks like Crosswinds is now on course to be open far beyond next year. You can listen to audio of the Q&A with Sue (please forgive the abrupt start, I missed the first minute or so since I forgot to set up the recorder). The feeling in the room was very positive, and many families registered their students to return to Crosswinds during the meeting. Please make sure you register to return too, if you have a Crosswinds student!

Meanwhile, EMID Families is planning a marketing push to make sure we let everyone know that Crosswinds is here and welcoming enrollment. We are making postcards to hand out, yard signs for our lawns, and magnets to give to kids, teachers, and legislators. This material should all be available next week and has been made possible by generous donations from families like yours.

When you get the postcards, please hang them in neighborhood places like groceries, libraries, and community centers. We need to get the word out! If you would be interested in a lawn sign, please let us know. And keep an eye out for the small magnet coming home with your Crosswinds student.

Here’s what the postcard will look like…

And here is a version of just the back side that can be used in other settings to advertise the school…

Finally, make your own copies! This version is single sided, black and white, without any bleed; in other words, it is really easy and cheap to copy. You can print this PDF at any copy shop and ask them to cut it in quarters. Go for it! Hand it out everywhere!

More to come on the lawn signs once they are ready.

Crosswinds families meet Perpich on Sunday

With the approval of the Perpich contract to manage Crosswinds, many Crosswinds families are wondering what is in store for next year. EMID Families will host a meeting with Perpich director Sue Mackert at Crosswinds, 2pm Sunday (7/14). This will be a chance for Perpich to tell us what they need from us in the coming weeks to make next year a success, and a chance for Crosswinds families to ask Perpich about its plans for the coming year. Please join us if you can!

Crosswinds will stay OPEN!

The EMID Board voted to keep the Crosswinds School open next year under the management of the Perpich Center for Arts Education. Since the legislature did not authorize conveyance of the building, this required EMID to reverse its earlier closure of the school and enter into a management agreement with Perpich. This is very exciting news since it means that all students are welcome to attend Crosswinds next year!

Since we are sure that many families have many questions about this development, EMID Families has invited Perpich to join us for a meeting at Crosswinds this coming Sunday (7/14) at 2pm. The short version of (most of) the answers is “it will work like it has worked in the past,” but Perpich is very interested in answering your question and making it possible for everyone who wants to stay at Crosswinds to do so. Please join us Sunday to learn about next steps.

The testimony from both families and the board tonight was very moving. We recorded it and the audio and video should be available tomorrow. Please check our wp.clst.org/emidfamilies website for an update with pointers to these recordings. Meanwhile, read the stories in the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune.

Crosswinds will be OPEN next year!

Update: we now have video of the whole board meeting available on YouTube.

On 10 July 2013 the East Metro Integration District Joint Powers Board questions Sue Mackert of the Perpich Center for Arts Education about a management contract for the Crosswinds Arts & Science School, hears public testimony in favor of the plan, and votes to approve it. Crosswinds is an inter-district integration, arts, and science magnet school which will now continue to provide services to families in “east metro” of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

EMID Board Work Session

Sue Mackert presents answers to questions prepared by the EMID Board (0:00:13)
Q&A between the board and Perpich representatives (0:42:08)

(this video includes the seven minute break between the work session and the special meeting of the board)

EMID Board Special Meeting

Eric Celeste, parent (2:09:48)
Jocelyn Stein, parent (2:15:56)
Bev Sellie, parent (2:17:46)
Holly Ingersoll, parent (2:19:06)
Thomas Boguszewski, alumn (2:25:25)
Anna Barker, teacher (2:28:30)
Carrie Dickson, parent (2:32:48)
Kim Zaiman, parent (2:38:08)
Susan Larson, parent and Perpich board member (2:41:45)
Tami Bayne-Kuczmarski, parent (2:43:30)
JoAnn Ward, state representative (2:46:21)
Bill Droessler, parent (2:48:59)
Discussion of approving the extension of the closure of Crosswinds to the end of the 2013-2014 school year (2:51:35)
Roll call on extension (2:56:12)
Discussion of approval of the Perpich contract for Crosswinds (2:57:18)
Lori Swanson, White Bear Lake (3:00:48)
Cindy Nordstrom, Inver Grove Heights (3:04:51)
Kitty Gogins, Roseville (3:06:34)
Amy Williams, South St. Paul (3:07:48)
Marilyn Forsberg, Spring Lake Park (3:09:18)
Jim Gelbmann, South Washington County (3:10:24)
Karen Morehead, Forest Lake (3:18:25)
Byron Schwab, West St. Paul (3:19:10)
Roll call on Perpich contract (3:20:00)
Other business (3:21:16)
Board forum (3:24:10)
Goodbye to Mary Ojile (3:28:30)