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CAPE works toward a future in which: students are valued as creators of culture in our society; teachers, artists and students work collaboratively to develop and share innovative approaches to teaching and learning in and through the arts in our public schools; teachers, artists, school administrators and parents recognize the arts as a key element in transforming schools into vibrant, creative and successful learning communities; professional colleagues and partners regularly communicate and share their practices and research in order to continually improve and evolve the field of arts in education; and policy makers, business leaders and all citizens value the arts in education as essential to a just and equal society, a thriving economy and an inclusive democratic culture. OUR HISTORY Founded in 1992, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) has become recognized as a leader in the field of school improvement through the arts. CAPE's partnerships serve as a living laboratory for a community of artists and teachers dedicated to infusing arts throughout the curriculum, and for a community of researchers dedicated to understanding how teaching through the arts improves student achievement. "CAPE was one of the first if not the first organization in the country that put cultural resources system-wide to effect deep change, not just a quick fix in schools," says Doug Herbert, former Director of Arts Education at the National Endowment for the Arts. CAPE's initial partnerships were founded in 1993 with a Request for Proposals issued to Chicago public schools, artists and arts organizations. Dr. James Catterall's evaluation of the initial CAPE Partnerships revealed that involvement with CAPE correlated with measures of successful school improvement both in the areas of standardized test scores as well as in the areas of higher order thinking skills and social skills. Dr. Catterall's findings were published in the widely disseminated study "Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning", published in October 1999. |
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In 2001, CAPE published the book Renaissance in the Classroom: Arts Integration and Meaningful Learning, written by over 200 participants in the CAPE network. The book continues to be a resource for the arts education field. In 2003, the Advocacy Institute and the Ford Foundation recognized CAPE and Executive Director Arnold Aprill with a Leadership for a Changing World Award. This award acknowledged CAPE's leadership in innovative approaches to school improvement through the arts. In 2003-2004, CAPE focused its partnerships' work on documenting the process of developing, implementing, and assessing arts integrated curriculum. At the same time, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, CAPE added new partnerships to its roster. In partnership with the Chicago Public Schools, CAPE also received a grant from the U. S. Department of Education for the DELTA Project (Developing Early Literacies Through the Arts). THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTS INTEGRATION To gain a good understanding of the importance of integrating the arts to support academic achievement in public schools, click this link to see Renaissance in the Classroom, a 12 minute 32 second (67 MB) video created in 1999, and featuring CAPE teachers, artists, and principals, and appearances by arts education advocate Maggie Daley and researchers James Catterall and Shirley Brice Heath. Because of the large size of this video, it is recommended only for those with broadband internet connections. We suggest you reduce the size of the daughter browser window it will appear in, continue to view the CAPE web site, and return to the daughter window to view the video once it has fully loaded or begins playing. |
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© 2004-2008 Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) 203 N. Wabash, Suite 1720, Chicago, Illinois 60601-2417 | ||||||
