Lauren Martin Neighborhood News Bureau May 29, 2012

There is a rush of excitement and adrenalin I get when I walk onto the stage, Perkins Elementary: Center for the Arts alumni Aaron Brown said. I love when the lights are shining so bright that the packed theater seems to disappear and all my butterflies vanish. Brown is entering his sophomore year of college at Otterbein College and is working toward his bachelors degree in Theatre. This Broadway dreamer can still remember the tiny theater where it all started when he attended school at Perkins Elementary. The Center for the Arts and International Studies at Perkins Elementary is a magnet school that emphasizes individualized learning in fine arts and the study of foreign languages and various cultures. During a student's elementary years, the children are exposed to many different learning approaches to help them grow as individuals. What we do here is try to encourage and expose students to the arts, Magnet Coordinator Laura Kranzel said. We funnel them down through all the classes we offer so they can discover what their talents are. The first four years, beginning in kindergarten, students attend various classes that expose them to all that the school has to offer. Classes include music, art, dance, theatre, keyboard, violin, and band. All classes are taught my teachers with extensive backgrounds in their area of study. Mr. Topper, who runs the theatre program at Perkins, has acting and choreography on his resume before he decided to settle down as a teacher. After the initial exposure to the arts, students in 4th and 5th grades are given a choice to pick which medium they prefer to focus on. Starting my education at Perkins opened my eyes up to what I really love to do. Who knows if I would have ever discovered my passion for theatre if it wasn't for this school, Brown said.

Perkins Elementary is home to a $11-million facility specially fashioned for the arts. The school includes a mirrored dance studio where students can learn ballet, modern, and jazz dance. There are two arts studios equip with kilns, potter's wheels and, for when the finished products are ready to be displayed, an art gallery for the students' work. The 250-seat theater was built to host not only the drama productions, but the dance performances and band concerts. For students who study foreign language and culture, a large multipurpose area was constructed for dancing, music, and art to enhance the study of other cultures. The school is up-to-date with technology and includes Internet-ready labs which allow students the opportunity to incorporate technology into their studies. For students who wish to continue their education in their focus, John Hopkins Middle School and Gibbs High School's PCCA program are considered the feeder magnet schools in the Midtown area. I first fell in love with acting when I went to Perkins. I then went to John Hopkins for middle school so I could stay in the theatre program. So when it came time for me to go to high school, there was no question in my mind that I would go into the PCCA program, Brown said. The students are very active in the community. In previous years, students in the strings program have performed at the state capitol and have served as docents in the Dali Museum. Dance students have also been selected to perform with a professional dance company at the Mahaffey Theater and many theatre students have gone on to perform with the American Stage. Each year, an auction of the students' artwork is held and much of artwork that is created at Perkins is displayed throughout the community. We have gotten a strong response from the community. We have student artwork displayed at All Children's Hospital, City Hall, and the YMCA, Kranzel said. The progressive teaching methods, the caring interest of all the teachers, and personalized attention makes learning fun and stimulating. Being creative is not a crime and at Perkins Elementary, its encouraged.

Inspired by the Chihuly exhibit, students were asked to create pieces of art that resembled the glass collection that is in downtown St. Petersburg. Instead of working with real glass, students used recycled plastic bottles, cut them into different sections, and color it with permanent marker.

Sources Aaron Brown 512-573-7720 Laura Kranzel 727-893-2659