Advocacy

CAP, through LEAD and AGC Jacksonville, advocates for Northeast Florida to lead the nation in providing essential and accessible arts education that recognizes, amplifies and grows every child’s creative spirit. By working with others for systemic change and increased access to arts education, CAP is expanding its reach beyond what could ever be done alone.

Participation in the arts is much more than an extracurricular activity.

Countless studies reinforce what we see every day—children who participate in the arts consistently show striking improvement in class participation and academic achievement, grow in their ability to communicate effectively, and gain the insights, empathy and language needed to understand themselves, others and the world around them.

Using Data from the Florida Department of Education, Duval County Public Schools and the Landscape of Education in the Arts in Duval (LEAD), CAP found that schools tend to have higher school performance grades with more:

arts offerings
arts educators
arts disciplines
students enrolled in arts courses

Arts education is vital to all children and their academic and emotional development. In Northeast Florida, there is a wide disparity in quality and access to arts education. In addition, the arts are not a core academic subject in Florida, and as such, class size and student-to-teacher ratio vary; in some cases, the ratio is 60:1.

How You Can Support

Advocate for a dedicated arts budget for every school.

Results from the 2021 LEAD survey indicate 53% of principals spend $0.01-$3.99 per student on the arts annually.
The same survey revealed 82% of principals need resources such as arts supplies and equipment, and 62.6% of principals asked to have a dedicated arts budget.
25% of principals indicated they have no additional funding for the arts from their community.

Donate to CAP to help expand direct services to reach more children and youth.

CAP tracked its students’ progress over a 10-year period, and the data showed:

97% of enrolled students were promoted to the next grade level
90% gained proficiency in various aspects of their artform
84% increased participation and task completion in class
84% strengthened communication skills with peers and adults

The Landscape of Education in the Arts in Duval (LEAD) is a survey and report that informs the Jacksonville community of the state of arts education in Duval County Public Schools. Jacksonville has made incredible strides toward greater access to quality arts education, and through LEAD, CAP will continue to advocate for arts education to show how the arts add up in the community.