Jacksonville, FL — The Cathedral Arts Project (CAP) says it is celebrating National Arts In Education Week 2023 by announcing new school partners and programs for the 2023-2024 school year, which includes 28 new programs and 13 new sites. In addition, the organization welcomes LaRhonda Britton as a full-time Clinical Creative Art Counselor, expanding CAP’s CAPabilities programs for students with special needs. Britton was a part-time teaching artist at CAP in the 2022-2023 school year, providing sensory arts classes to students at Oak Hill Academy, Hope Haven and Palm Avenue Exceptional Student Center. As a full-time team member, she will continue her sensory art programs and provide art counseling at three new sites—Alfred I. duPont Middle School, Bridge to Success Academy High School, and GRASP Academy.
National Arts in Education Week is an annual national celebration recognizing the vital and transformative importance of the arts in education. The week-long event begins the second Sunday of September. Passed by Congress in 2010, the week-long celebration raises awareness about this cause for elected officials and leaders in the education sector across the country and to support equitable access to the arts for all students.
CAP celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The Jacksonville nonprofit provides access to arts education to students living in under-served communities, as well as children and youth with disabilities and those in the justice system. In addition to its afterschool programs and CAPabilities programs for students with special needs, the organization provides arts integration programs in eight Duval County schools, pairing CAP teaching artists with school instructors to co-teach subjects like dance and math or theatre and language arts during the school day.
The organization says its data shows that on average, CAP students score 7 points higher on standardized tests, achieve higher grade proficiency, perform better in science, and receive half as many behavioral violations in comparison to students not participating in CAP programs. Over a 10-year period, 97% of CAP students were promoted to the next grade level and 84% increased “grit” indicators such as class participation and task completion.
The Cathedral Arts Project (CAP) is a nationally recognized nonprofit provider of quality visual and performing arts instruction for school-aged children in Northeast Florida. CAP’s mission is to empower every child’s creative spirit, elevate arts educators in their field and advocate for access and equity in arts education. Learn more at capkids.org.
Here is a full list of CAP’s programs.
· Abess Park Elementary School (visual arts, music, arts integration theatre & ELA)
· Alfred I. duPont Middle School (art counseling)
· Beauclerc Elementary School (visual arts)
· Bridge to Success Academy High School (art counseling)
· Brookview Elementary School (music)
· Central Riverside Elementary School (music)
· Chaffee Trail Elementary School (dance)
· Chimney Lakes Elementary School (dance, visual arts)
· Cornerstone Classical Academy (dance, music, theatre, visual arts)
· Crown Point Elementary School (dance)
· Crystal Springs Elementary School (music, music therapy)
· Don Brewer Elementary School (visual arts)
· Enterprise Learning Academy (music)
· GRASP Academy (art counseling)
· Greenland Pines Elementary School (arts integration dance & math, music therapy)
· Highlands Middle School (music)
· Hope Haven (sensory arts, music therapy)
· Hyde Park Elementary School (music)
· Jacksonville Heights Elementary School (theatre)
· John E. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility (visual arts)
· Joseph Stillwell Military Academy of Leadership (music therapy)
· Kings Trail Elementary School (music, theatre)
· Landmark Middle School (music therapy)
· Long Branch Elementary School (arts integration theatre & ELA, music)
· Love Grove Elementary School (music therapy)
· Mandarin Oaks Elementary School (theatre, music therapy)
· Mayport Coastal Sciences Elementary School (visual arts)
· Mount Herman Exceptional Student Center (music therapy)
· Neptune Beach Elementary School (music therapy)
· North Florida School for Special Education (music therapy)
· Oak Hill Academy (sensory arts, music therapy)
· Ortega Elementary School (visual arts)
· Palm Avenue Exceptional Student Center (sensory arts, music therapy)
· Parkwood Heights Elementary School (theatre, arts integration VA & science)
· PossAbilities Plus (music therapy)
· Ruth N. Upson Elementary School (arts integration dance & math)
· S.A. Hull Elementary School (arts integration visual arts & science)
· Sally B. Mathis Elementary School (music therapy)
· Spring Park Elementary School (arts integration theatre & ELA, theatre)
· Springfield Middle School (dance)
· Twin Lakes Academy Elementary School (arts integration visual arts & science)
· Venetia Elementary School (theatre)
· West Riverside Elementary School (visual arts)
· Youth Crisis Center (visual arts)
· CAP String Orchestra
15 new sites (12 more than last year)
29 new programs