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Gordon Parks High School dedication ceremony March 6
Media Release
Community Relations Office
Contact: Brett Johnson - (651) 767-8107
Feb. 25, 2008
Saint Paul Public Schools’ new building for high school alternative education bears an appropriate name. Like the namesake Gordon Parks, alternative education students often face disadvantages in their young lives. Alternative education gives students the flexibility and focus to complete their educations. Saint Paul Public Schools opened Gordon Parks High School in December, 2007. On March 6, members of the Gordon Parks family, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and students at Gordon Parks High School will formally dedicate the building to the legendary American artist.
The dedication ceremony starts at 3:30 p.m., but beginning at 2 p.m., the public will have the opportunity to see the building and experience some of the work of Gordon Parks High School students, including photo and writing essays, artwork, and an in-progress student-produced documentary about opening Gordon Parks High School. Teachers at Gordon Parks have incorporated aspects of his art and writing into the curriculum.
During the dedication ceremony, a Gordon Parks student will read an original work in honor of the school’s namesake. Following the conclusion of the dedication, the building will remain open to the public until 6 p.m. for tours and to showcase student work.
About Gordon Parks High School
The design and structure of Gordon Parks High School provides a new and more optimistic setting for students to excel in a rigorous, academic setting. Previously, Saint Paul Public Schools leased space for the alternative high school, converting office space into classrooms. The new, award-winning facility is a traditional, yet dynamic environment for the district’s daytime and evening alternative education programs.
About Gordon Parks
Prior to becoming a modern renaissance man with achievements in photography, poetry, literature, film, and ballet, Gordon Parks was a 15-year-old boy who moved to St. Paul from his home in Fort Scott, Kansas, after his mother died. After a disagreement with his brother-in-law, Parks found himself homeless, sleeping in trolley cars and working as a busboy to make ends meet.
Despite these disadvantages, Parks had the ambition and work ethic to become a famed photographer for Life magazine during its postwar prime. He was the first African-American artist to produce and direct a major Hollywood movie with The Learning Tree in 1969. He also directed the movie Shaft, wrote poetry and novels and composed and choreographed a ballet dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. Parks died on March 7, 2006 at the age of 93.
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