About Perkins Schools

Our District at a Glance

Perkins Local School District, located just south of Sandusky, Ohio, serves approximately 1,900 students in preschool through grade 12. To prepare our students, we believe it is essential to change “age-old” traditional teacher-led education to provide more opportunities for students to actively engage in their own learning. This requires a dramatic change in how we educate, and our core beliefs guide this process.

In accordance with our 21st century focus and core beliefs, Perkins is a one-to-one laptop district. Students at the Intermediate, Middle and High School levels are each assigned a laptop for in-class use. Students in grades 6-12 are allowed to bring their laptops home to complete their work, and all computers are collected at the end of the school year for updates and maintenance.

The Perkins Local School District is located in Perkins Township and also contains parts of five contingent townships. Originally a rural school district, most of the district's students now live in a suburban setting. With positive results for our students, the district initiated open enrollment 10 years ago to maintain and expand access to Perkins’ excellent academic and extracurricular programs. The district has four buildings: Furry Elementary (Grades Preschool-2), Meadowlawn Intermediate Elementary (Grades 3-5), Briar Middle School (Grades 6-8), and Perkins High School (Grades9-12).

Our Community

The Perkins Local School District is located in Erie County, Ohio and is comprised of Perkins Township and portions of five contingent townships: Groton, Huron, Margaretta, Milan, and Oxford. We are proud to serve this collective community and provide the below links and contact information in an effort to aid residents and visitors to our website.

History of the Perkins Schools

By Ruth Strohl
Twelve independent schoolhouses for grades 1-8 were stretched across Perkins Township during the 1800s and early 1900s. Among them was Campbell Street School which remains as the oldest part of the current Perkins High School facility.

An effort in 1919 failed to centralize the twelve schoolhouses. Unable to agree where a centralized building should be erected, the Perkins school buildings were divided into two sections of the township creating East Perkins and West Perkins. The West Perkins section set up its own new district known as the West Perkins Rural School District. But this arrangement proved unsatisfactory because students in grades 1-6 were scattered throughout the area in several locations, and grades 7-8 were sent to the Sandusky City Schools. The two districts agreed to reunite and retain the name of the West Perkins Rural School District. The financial settlement from this merger provided enough funds to add two more rooms to the one-room Campbell Street School.

During the summer of 1930, a fourth classroom was added to Campbell Street School. All remaining one-room schools were closed, and students attended Campbell Street School or the two-room Oakland School. Early In 1932, the name of the West Perkins Rural School District was changed to the Perkins Rural School District. By late 1934, the Works Progress Administration, a U.S. Government public works project, provided funds for four more classrooms at Campbell Street School making it an eight-room building for grades 1-6. The Oakland School was sold, and all students attended Campbell Street School.

In 1943, the Perkins Rural School District was changed to our present name, the Perkins Local School District. Following World War II, school enrollment increased with the rapid rise in township population. Voters approved construction of six classrooms in a new wing on the east side of Campbell Street School along with a cafeteria, a gymnasium, locker rooms and an auditorium. The new wing was ready for occupancy in 1950.

When enrollment surged in the early 1950s, more classrooms, a library, and art room were added to the south end of Campbell Street School. This one-story addition for grades 7-8 was completed in 1956 and became the first Perkins Junior High School. Furry Elementary School was also built in 1956. Desiring a full K-12 program, the Perkins Board of Education, with voter approval, authorized construction of a new high school and swimming pool. This addition consisted of a top floor over the junior high wing and a new wing for more classrooms and other academic areas. The high school was completed in 1958 allowing the Class of 1961 to be the first senior class to graduate from Perkins High School. Meadowlawn School was constructed in 1960. Music and shop wings were added to the high school in 1961. An athletic field was added in 1963. Briar School was completed in 1966. Another high school classroom wing was built in 1967.

Major construction in 1979 changed exterior and interior parts of the high school with more classrooms, a new main entrance and administrative office, and other improvements. The fieldhouse was built in 2003. Community tennis courts were added in 2007. The Firelands Regional Medical Center Stadium was constructed in 2012; a multi-purpose venue for Perkins sports, band, and community events.

History of the Perkins Schools would not be complete without noting the service and dedication of so many who contributed to its development and growth beyond just bricks and mortar. Teachers, staff, coaches, administrators, the board of education members, parents, and community members have continually worked to meet the ever-changing needs of our students and to ensure the Perkins Schools’ tradition of excellence and Pirate Pride.