Newsmakers: New Executive Director Aims to Amplify Perpich’s Statewide Impact
New Perpich Executive Director Allegra Smisek calls her new role a “dream job,” citing the school’s culture of belonging and personalized, project-based learning.
“Throughout my career I’ve really worked on innovation and education and thinking of new ways of doing school,” said Smisek. “So many of the things that I’ve worked on my entire career to implement and work towards already exist at Perpich, so there’s this incredible culture of belonging, personalized learning. It’s a really meaningful project based learning, enormous teacher efficacy. It’s just a really, really special place to be a part of.”
Smisek has served as Perpich’s interim executive director since November 2024. Before joining Perpich, she served as director of Cradle to Career Initiatives for Goodhue County Educational District and RiseUp in Red Wing.
One of Smisek’s goals during her first months as executive director is to continue to tell Perpich’s story.
“There’s a lot of folks in our community that are doing that, but I want it to be even louder,” said Smisek. “For example, our professional development and resource programs, they are finishing up their third quarter data and it’s amazing that so far this year they’ve done 223 events throughout the state. 1567 educators have participated, so that’s in 269 school districts and charter schools — that’s more than half of the schools and school districts in the state.”
Smisek invites the public to come check out spring performances or exhibitions at Perpich Arts High School in Golden Valley, where admission is free. The admission process is still open for the next school year, so she also invites prospective students to check it out. You can learn more at perpich.mn.gov.
See also: Standout Student: Perpich Visual Artist Gains National Acclaim
