Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education

CAPE’s work is to increase academic success, critical thinking, and creativity through research-based, arts-driven education. CAPE collaborates with schools that serve low-income students of color in order to build equity and improve access for the arts in communities that lack the resources to do so. CAPE teaching artists partner with K-12 teachers and artists in two school districts: Chicago Public Schools and West Chicago Public Schools (SD33), reaching 4,000 students annually. In CAPE classrooms, teachers and artists collaborate on developing engaging learning projects that weave the arts and academics, building students’ knowledge and capacities in both areas. Rather than providing a scripted curriculum, CAPE’s model of arts integration provides a framework for teaching and learning that is adapted to each classroom’s needs and interests.