The initiative to develop the programs that would become the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools was born in the late 1960's when education officials became concerned about the lack of educational opportunities and college and career counseling for artistically talented students. A federal grant underwrote the three-year Fine Arts Project that demonstrated the importance of providing to talented adolescents a sustained, intensive, sophisticated, experiential learning experience under the mentorship of master artists. The Project underscored the fact that creativity and acuity were enhanced when peers from diverse backgrounds worked together and shared one another's enthusiasms. Furthermore, a significant number of participants reported that because of the role models, information and guidance provided, they were able to make informed decisions about their future as artists and arts advocates that could otherwise not have made.
In 1973, the Commonwealth Department of Education initiated the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, based on the model of the pilot project. By the early 1980s, the continuing success of that program led educators to suggest that its basic format--five weeks long, residential, featuring expert faculty and facilities, as well as challenging, intensive, experiential instructional activities and individual guidance--could be adapted for other subject or intelligence areas. In the years since, several other programs have been made available to Pennsylvania children. Administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the current programs are: The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for Global Entrepreneurship, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for Health Care, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for Information, Society and Technology, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for International Studies, The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences and The Pennsylvania Governor's School for Teaching. All of the programs receive basic funding through the Department of Education except the Governor's School for Health Care which is funded by the state Department of Health.
Since 1973, leadership development has been emphasized in all of the programs. Participants have continued to return to the home communities with the spirit of sharing their talents and energies. The achievements of alumni are recognized by many colleges and universities in Pennsylvania which set aside merit scholarship monies to award to admissions candidates who have participated in a Governor's School.
The Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence now count over 15,000 alumni. Many are becoming as visible as actor Kevin Bacon, who attended the Governor's School for the Arts in 1974 or composer Aaron Jay Kernis '75 who won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for music composition; all have distinguished themselves in a variety of professions, research and scholarship. Most agree with Arts alumnus Mark Oswald, a principal baritone with the Metropolitan Opera Company, who says that if it were not for that summer at the Governor's School, he would never have been inspired to reach as far as he has.
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