CAP expansion of program is met with initial success
What:
At the beginning of the 2023 school year, the Cathedral Arts Project (CAP) increased its arts integration programs, now serving eight schools with 28 classes throughout NE Florida expanding a dynamic new approach to learning in the classroom. The program provides Duval County Public School (DCPS) teachers with collaborative instruction with a CAP teaching artist of arts-integrated curriculum, which is where an art form (dance, music, theatre or visual arts) is used as a tool for learning one or more academic subjects. The programs offer schools and partner sites a unique approach to increasing students’ understanding of academic standards. This approach provides students with new ways to learn and retain lessons, and it provides classroom teachers with techniques that can be recreated and used in the future.
At the heart of this transformation is Spring Park Elementary School, which is home to four of CAP’s Theatre/English Language Arts (ELA) arts integration programs this year. In one classroom, a group of students gathered in a circle, excitement buzzing in the air, to learn about how to structure a narrative in a story. The ELA teacher and CAP teaching artist handed out story starters, and with eager anticipation, a student was selected to kickstart the narrative. From there, the student pointed to their peers, each adding their twist to the plot. The students also had to incorporate newly learned vocabulary into their storytelling while acting in character. Theatre was integrated into the lesson to teach the English curriculum.
CAP Arts integration curriculum has recently received national recognition by the Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts-integrated Teaching (PAInT). Dance Teaching Artist Fellow Jacqueline Peterson presented at the REACHing Arts Integration: Teaching and Learning Practices workshop at the Global Outreach Charter Academy on August 26, 2023. Peterson was nominated to join the national cohort of REACH teachers. REACH is a $8.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen arts educational programming in the nation’s schools. The grant funds projects that will establish a national replicable model to strengthen learning in U.S. schools, harnessing the effectiveness of arts integration as a catalyst for increasing student engagement and achievement across multiple disciplines.
Who:
Principal Davina Parker, Spring Park Elementary
Dr. Lucy Chen, Vice President of Advocacy & Community Engagement is available to discuss the impact of arts integration on students’ academic performance.
CAP Dance Teaching Artist Fellow Jacqueline Peterson
Visual Assets:
Photos of CAP students are available for download here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5gjmkxsszgoznr0jgtv7p/h?rlkey=kh35gi25acgg5ze6lyb4pp78p&dl=0
Media Contact:
For media inquiries only, please contact:
Nan Kavanaugh | nan@wearewingard.com | 904-415-0051 (cell)