The annual Arts in Education Spring Celebration will carry-on the name of its founder. Gerry Brookhart founded the annual spring time event at the Peoria County Courthouse 28 years ago. He retired from the Regional Superintendent of Schools office after 31 years.
Now he says he’ll do a longitudinal study on the life progress of the students who graduate from the Peoria Regional High School located at Wildlife Prairie Park:
“I would put it up against anybody. Because it has achieved the purpose we wanted was to modify behavior that you a lot of times don’t get say here in the inner city. But when they get out there and the bison are running and we take them fishing, it just mollifies their behavior and they take a different perspective in life that they never had the opportunity to see,” says Brookhart.
Brookhart says future support of the program will be measured on the life progress of its graduates one to five years later. The program was founded in 2011.
Brookhart says he would also be interested in serving at least temporarily in the open Peoria Public School Board 3rd District seat.