“Our mission is to inspire at risk students to rise to the occasion and to become successful individuals by following the model of former students who have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”
A sculptor and muralist whose bold work is on several Metro Detroit buildings, Perez teaches through the art he creates. Students who work with him learn as much about history and culture as they do about paper-mâché and painting. “If art doesn’t serve a purpose for society, it is not reaching its full potential,” says the 45-year-old who teaches art, bilingual and special education. A mural painted this year inside Logan Elementary traced the Detroit school’s history from a largely Polish to mostly Hispanic student body. Principal Maria Elena Vasquez said “mini-artists” vied to help Perez decorate the wall. “He touched a lot of kids,” she says, “and he uncovered a lot of natural talent, abilities.” Today Perez and his wife reside in Corktown. The oldest of their five children-including two college art students-help their father work with neighborhood youth. “I’m trying to give my kids a sense of community,” Perez says. “It’s not all about making money.”
Just stop for a second, and imagine that “un-reachable” student graduating and becoming a success story. At risk students don’t want someone to give them sympathy, but rather someone to empathize with them. We want to teach you the skills that will allow you to empathize with your students so that you can step into their reality and help them to create a new reality, one with many choices and a brighter future. We all come from many different backgrounds, and it doesn’t matter how we got here as much what we do with our time while we are here.