Arnold Aprill, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE)

The arts demonstrably stimulate children’s creative, expressive, perceptual, and analytical abilities. An analysis by the College Board showed that students who studied the arts for more than four years scored 44 points higher on the math portion and 59 points higher on the verbal section of the S.A.T. Nonetheless, for two decades, school districts have dramatically cut or eliminated arts education. In inner-city and rural communities, and communities of color especially, this failure widens the academic and cultural gap between those with access to arts education and those without.

Read the transcript from April 29, 2005 Leadership Talks Archive

Join Leadership for a Changing World on Friday, April 29 at 1 pm ET for a live, online interview with Arnold Aprill, Executive Director of Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), in Chicago. Aprill will discuss the importance of integrating art into education and why cuts to funding for the arts is hurting America’s children.

Arnold Aprill, a theater artist who has worked in Chicago’s public schools for 25 years, has a lengthy background in the arts. As the founder of CAPE, Aprill is motivated by two powerful imperatives: “the urgent need to address the shameful inequities in urban public education” and “the need to reclaim the arts as a potent force for activating participation democracy.” He believes that during times of political crisis, the integration of the arts into education becomes an even more compelling issue. An art-integrated curriculum, Aprill says, can help transform a school into a dynamic learning community in which educators and students are more likely to think critically, express themselves creatively, and respect divergent opinions.

CAPE, developed by Aprill in 1993, is a pioneering arts program at 25 Chicago public schools. With over 45 artists and arts organizations under its umbrella, CAPE operates as a network of teachers, artists, parents, and community members devoted to school reform through the arts. At CAPE schools, located primarily in high poverty neighborhoods, artists and teachers design collaborative curricula that connect the arts to all academic areas. A recent study funded in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation revealed that sixth-graders in CAPE schools improved their scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills more than children in similar schools without the CAPE program.

In addition to his work in Chicago, Aprill helps communities across the nation replicate CAPE’s approach and has initiated national and international exchanges of teachers, artists, and students devoted to school improvement through the arts. Renaissance in the Classroom: Arts Integration and Meaningful Learning, written by CAPE participants, is a benchmark text for school reform through arts education, recommended by the Harvard Educational Review as required reading for educators.

For more information

Leadership for a Changing World profile

Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE)

Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education blog