In the March 2008 CAPE Communiqué:				CAPE's Mission CAPE advances the arts as a vital strategy for improving teaching and learning by increasing students' capacity for academic success, critical thinking and creativity. CAPE's Vision 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. Board of Directors Nancy Jones Emrich, Pres. Phil Cote, Vice President Paula S. Carlin, Treasurer Jan Woelffer, Secretary Richard M. Assmus Christine K. Buck Jeffrey A. Byrnes Dawnmarie Domingo Carol P. Eastin Sean D. Egan, Ph.D. Stephen Flisk P. Loreen Mershimer Toni Riccardi Mel Smith Phil Thomas Bill Tuggle Donate to CAPE With your financial support, CAPE can bring its extraordinary teaching and learning philosophies and methods to educators and children throughout Chicago. Your gift will enable CAPE to continue to be an effective advocate for positive change in Chicago's public schools. Follow this link to donate to CAPE.
	1. CAPE's Annual Report 2. ArtsEdArn 3. Toast to CAPE 08		4. New CAPE Board Member 5. Visitations 6. St. Alphonsus
	CAPE's Founding and Creative Director Arnold Aprill is serving as a blogger for the Community Building Initiative – established by the City of Chicago and the non-profit Green Street Project. This lively web site is a virtual home for community organizers, advocates and planners in the city of Chicago, with many opportunities for you to participate! Check out Arnie's blog (under the nom de plume ArtsEdArn) and join in. - - - -
	CAPE's 2006-2007 Annual Report is available on-line for reading or downloading. Just click to download a PDF suitable for printing or viewing.
	A wonderful selection of artwork by CAPE students, artists and staff is being auctioned at the 3rd Annual Toast to CAPE. Help support CAPE while you enjoy hors d'oeuvres and wine amid the beautiful KN Gallery space on the 25th floor of the John Hancock Building. Click for event details and to get a first-look at some of the artwork. - - - - Please join CAPE in welcoming newest Board member Carol P. Eastin. Carol is a retired senior-level Information Services executive with 35 years of experience. She has helped guide and shape the delivery of information for industry leaders Starbucks Coffee, McDonald's and Osco Drug. Carol also brings years of experience as a director on commercial and non-profit Boards. Welcome to CAPE, Carol!
	Executive Director Amy Rasmussen presented a session on grant writing to teachers at Victor Herbert Elementary School. The teachers there are looking to fund projects, events and resources as they strive to provide the highest quality education possible to their CPS students. CAPE applauds the efforts of these dedicated teachers, including long-time CAPE Veteran Partners Jesl Cruz and Jack Kono and teaching artist Robert Possehl. - - - - CAPE staffers will be very busy in the coming days: Education Director Scott Sikkema and Program Associate Mark Diaz will be off to the Big Apple to attend the International Conference of Teacher Research 2008 at Bank Street College of Education.  The theme for the conference is Combining Voices: Building a Teacher Research Community. Scott and Mark's presentation, "Teacher Networks for Supporting, Sharing, and Moving Forward Research", will be on how our CAPE community works together in shaping our research. It's the Big Easy for Building Curriculum, Community and Leadership through the Arts (BCCLA) Project Coordinator Erica Tryon and CPS Fine and Performing Arts Magnet Cluster Program Director Mario Rossero as they present at the National Art Education Association (NAEA) in New Orleans. Their presentation will address the summer professional development strategy and design within the project. This is their second presentation on BCCLA at the NAEA conference. CAPE Researcher Gail Burnaford, Ph.D. and Research Associate Laura Tan will also be presenting on BCCLA, but at the No Teacher Left Behind II conference at Brown University. In their presentation they will examine the links between cross-school partnerships, professional development sessions, and improved literacy instruction through the arts. Executive Director Amy Rasmussen will be joining 17 Illinois arts advocates in Washington DC at the annual Arts Advocacy Day organized by Americans for the Arts. With the Illinois delegation, Amy will be meeting with Illinois' elected officials, including Dick Durbin, Barack Obama, Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Rahm Emanuel (among others). Amy will be discussing the impact of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education on arts education programs in Chicago's schools.
	Alphonsus Academy and Center for the Arts is a Catholic school committed to arts integration. The adventuresome school engaged CAPE to develop meaningful documentation methodologies, and to bring dancer Zineb Chraibi and visual artist Juan-Carlos Perez into classrooms. This culminated in an exhilarating evening for parents and families in which students, teachers, and artists showcased their artwork and their process documentation one cold and snowy February night. There was a heavy snowstorm blowing outside, but the St. Alphonsus community was undaunted. The hallways were packed with families reading documentation panels, watching dance and movement exhibitions, admiring extraordinary oil pastels, and investigating mysterious and intriguing sculpture and poetry installations hanging from ceilings, hidden in corners, “walking” up stairs, and framing doorways throughout the school building. The weather may have been chilly, but Alphonsus Academy and Center for the Arts was full of warm feelings that night. - - - - The Building Community through the Arts Humboldt Park School Engagement Initiative has just completed its last professional development session. Teachers, artists and students are hard at work on their projects. The teams from El Cuarto Año High School, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School, Lowell Elementary, and Stowe Fine and Performing Arts Academy attended workshops that fostered them to have in-depth learning and discussions about the history and future of Humboldt Park. - - - - Veteran CAPE teacher Wendee Schavocky and visual artist Megan Williamson have been doing amazing work with kindergarteners at Hawthorne Academy. Click to learn more about their sophisticated explorations as the children Make Shape of Their World. - - - - As part of their research on civil liberties, sixth graders from Burley School toured the Freedom Museum with parents, teacher Ben Kovacs and teaching artist Daniel Kerr-Hobert to challenge their knowledge on the topic. Afterwards, the students transformed an ordinary field trip into a public performance of sorts on Michigan Avenue. Clad in t-shirts that read FREEDOM VS. EQUALITY and equipped with audio recorders, the students interviewed passers-by on what they thought about their rights. - - - -
	What have we done to our environment? What is our environment? Does a superhero really save the world?  Who's world?		This year students from Murray Language Academy made videos that thoughtfully addressed these questions. The videos were recently screened at the Hyde Park Art Center where parents, friends, and curious art patrons laughed and discussed the topics the students raised. CAPE Veterans teacher Joe Mills and teaching artist Jessi Walsh were on hand, proudly talking with audience members about their teaching process.

© 2008 Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education 203 North Wabash, Suite 1720 • Chicago, Illinois 60601-2417 312/870-6140 • fax:312/870-6147 • info@capeweb.org