FARGO — Fargo Public Schools is gauging community support for establishing a dedicated school structure for students interested in the performing arts.

The concept is a full-time Trollwood Performing Arts School that combines accredited academic instruction with specialized artistic training and mentorship.

Academic courses would be offered through Fargo Public Schools (FPS) Virtual Academy and the artistic components would take place at Bluestem Center for the Arts, a property in Moorhead operated year-round by Fargo schools.

Under the proposal, the district would step back from seeking weekday events to fill the rental calendar at Bluestem.

A survey to sample public interest opened on Thursday, Oct. 26 and closes Friday, Nov. 10.

It’s available

on the websites of FPS

and of

Trollwood Performing Arts School.

Superintendent Rupak Gandhi said it’s one of several options the district is exploring to provide more individualized learning for students, the other being

a Self-Directed Learning Academy.

“We’re just excited about people being able to spend more of their time where their passion is, while making sure that they’re not neglecting their K-12 academics,” Gandhi said.

Kathy Anderson, executive director of Trollwood and Bluestem, said students have loved coming to Bluestem ever since Trollwood moved into the facility in 2009.

“They feel very, very much like this is their place,” Anderson said.

Gandhi said the idea is possible because of the Virtual Academy, which got its start during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been evolving ever since.

Holly Fiechtner, administrator of the FPS Virtual Academy, said while online instruction is offered for students K-12, the full-time Trollwood program would be open only to those in grades nine through 12, at least initially.

She said the academic offerings through the Virtual Academy are the same as those offered in school buildings, completed in a slightly different format.

“We might have to prototype and go through a couple of iterations to see what is best serving our students,” Gandhi said.

The vast majority of feedback from surveys received thus far is positive, Anderson said.

Students, parents, community members and Trollwood alumni have come forward to say they’d like to be part of the program.

Gandhi said the strongest student interest so far is in the areas of musical theater, acting for stage, vocal music, playwriting, songwriting and composition.

The school district also wants to know how many students are interested in photography, web design, graphic design, instrumental music, play writing, and script writing.

Gandhi explained that the artistic aspect of the full-time Trollwood Performing Arts School would be less instruction and more mentorship.

The district wants to be certain the program does not compete with or diminish comprehensive programs already available in schools.

For example, a student could take academic coursework through the virtual academy, receive specialized artistic mentorship at Trollwood, but also choose to take an in-person theater class and participate in a play or musical at one of the Fargo high schools.

Classes and performances would take place at Bluestem through the program, but there wouldn’t necessarily be a set of ongoing classes at particularly scheduled times, Gandhi said.

A talent cultivation manager would provide artistic mentorship to the students and also ensure they’re staying on top of their school work.

The mentor might help pave the way for a student to later attend a more technical school in the performing and visual arts, or coordinate performance opportunities in the school district or broader community.

“It’s essentially like a portfolio that you’re building if you were an artist,” Gandhi said.

There would be no additional fees for students participating in the program.

Costs associated with the program would involve hiring a talent cultivation manager and a corresponding budget to help them bring in community resources for instruction.

Gandhi said the school district has already made an investment in Trollwood and he doesn’t think costs of making it a full-time endeavor would be a significant variance from budgets already allocated.

Once the survey data is received and compiled, a report will be drawn up for the Fargo school board’s review, he said.