Benefactress Aliki Perroti set the cornerstone in spring 2016 for a new building complex at Perrotis College to serve the needs of a thriving student body. Thanks to her generous gift, the new Aliki Perroti Educational Center will be a hub of collaborative learning for students and faculty across disciplines related to agriculture, the environment and other life sciences. One of the largest developments to be undertaken on campus, the project includes major new construction along with the renovation of an existing building to be named the Seth Frank Hall of Graduate Studies. This integrated academic cluster will extend the College’s capacity for applied research and innovation, while fostering scientific inquiry, creative discovery, and the enterprising execution of ideas. The Aliki Perroti Educational Center will also be home to new academic programs – a BSc. in alternative tourism is the first such addition to make its debut this coming fall. 

Mrs. Aliki Perroti’s visionary philanthropy has transformed the American Farm School for its second century of service and achievement. Her 1995 gift in memory of her late husband led to the founding of the Dimitris Perrotis College in his honor and was the catalyst for the institution’s historic entry into higher education. It was also the first in a long line of extraordinary contributions in support of the College that carry the Perrotis family name and provide key campus facilities that foster inspired teaching, the creation of new knowledge through applied research, collaboration with leading educational and industry partners, and a sense of community through contemporary student residential living. 

Believing that all students can become selfempowered, confident, and lifelong learners – regardless of differences in abilities – the School established the Arcadia Program in the High School through the support of the Androus Foundation.

The Arcadia Program assists students who learn differently to adapt strategies that will enable them to succeed. It is a supplemental program offered in tandem to the curriculum, primarily aimed at students with learning challenges. AFS is one of only a handful of schools in Greece that strategically addresses this issue at the high school level.

Demonstrated student progress has led the School to expand the Arcadia Program to include the Elementary School. This will allow for early intervention and the opportunity to help the School’s youngest students build the foundation for a lifetime of active and effective learning.

Recent strides in the program are due both to the long-time support of the Androus Foundation championed by Trustee Deborah Androus, as well as new support from other U.S. donors for this purpose, including that of the Samourkas and Demos Foundations.

The School’s Educational Farm adds a powerful new Zetor tractor to its fleet, through the generous joint gift of Greek agricultural machinery purveyor DEMETER S.A. and Czech tractor manufacturer Zetor. This significant in-kind donation, which will serve the Educational Farm and so benefit students, was unveiled at the High School graduation ceremony. Dimitris and Philip Gorgias, the father-son team behind DEMETER S.A., were in attendance, as was Director of Sales, Leonidas Ventourakis, who briefly addressed graduates.

A recent gift from the Jeanann Gray Dunlap Foundation has enabled the creation of an educational greenway, to serve as a physical and metaphorical bridge between the Elementary School and Pre-School. The new walkway does more than provide a pedestrian-safe space for the School’s youngest learners – it is a path of discovery, of active exploration and observation, and is already being used in these capacities as a launching point for many experiential learning activities. Pictured here, a pre-school class paints on the pathway using branches and leaves as paintbrushes.

A recent grant from the General Mills Foundation has enabled the refurbishing of the educational greenhouse adjoining the Primary division’s “Discovery Garden.” The greenhouse and garden play an essential role in the School’s experiential learning program. Teachers use these spaces to actively engage our youngest learners in the sciences and to multiply opportunities for hands-on investigation to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. The project, the third that the School has undertaken with funding from the General Mills Foundation, included expanding the existing structure, installing new flooring, repairing the roof, changing the glass panels, installing climate control, and adding furnishings and equipment. The facility is now operational, and already being put to good use by our enthusiastic Pre-K through 3rd grade classes.