Programs
CAP offers instruction in dance, music, theatre and visual arts for students across educational settings in Northeast Florida, as well as arts integration, art counseling, music therapy and sensory arts.
Arts Ignite: Afterschool & enrichment programs
Arts Ignite, CAP’s signature program with a more than 30-year history, provides ongoing, comprehensive arts education in dance, music, theatre and the visual arts. Programs are hosted at partner schools and community sites, and more intensive programs are available through our Emerging Artist Program.
CAPabilities: Programs for all abilities
CAP’s therapeutic programs, called CAPabilities, employ the arts to help build skills and support healthy development. Programs include art counseling, music therapy and sensory art for children and young adults with disabilities or specialized needs.
Art Smarts: In-school arts integration
CAP’s Art Smarts programs integrate the arts with learning, offering a unique approach to increasing students’ understanding of academic standards. In partnership with in-school educators, an art form is used as a tool for learning one or more academic subjects.
Arts Ignite
Afterschool & Enrichment Programs
Arts Ignite programs offer high-quality, standards-based programs in dance, music, theatre and the visual arts. Most students in these programs also have the opportunity to perform or have their work displayed at CAP’s Performing Arts Showcase and Visual Arts Showcases, celebrating all they’ve achieved throughout the year.
These programs are most often held after school, but can be offered during the day at select partner and school sites. Most programs occur twice weekly for maximum benefit to students.
Emerging Artist Programs
CAP Emerging Artist Programs give students in grades 3-12 the opportunity to hone their technical abilities and expand their creative skills in a focused discipline alongside a community of dedicated young artists. These specialized ensembles provide more individualized instruction for students who wish to further their arts education. Open to both new and returning CAP students, these programs offer intensive instruction in dance, strings, theatre and the visual arts. Through performance and exhibition opportunities, portfolio development and audition preparation, students build confidence and skills for future studies and careers in the arts.
CAPabilities
Programs for All Abilities
Many students have unique learning needs. Specialized, tailored support is key in helping them meet their full potential. Young people of all abilities who have the opportunity to learn through the arts develop skills necessary for confidence, socialization, emotional regulation and improved academics.
CAP offers three programs to assist students with essential academic, emotional, social and therapeutic needs.
Art Smarts
In-School Arts Integration
In an arts-integrated curriculum, an art form—whether dance, music, theatre or the visual arts—is used as a tool for learning one or more academic subjects. Students engage in a creative process that connects the two subjects and meets evolving objectives in both.
This approach provides students with new ways to learn and retain lessons, and classroom teachers with techniques that can be recreated and used in the future. CAP teaching artists co-plan and teach these programs with in-school educators during the school day.
Sample pairings are: Dance & Math | Theatre & English Language Arts | Visual Arts & Science
Program Reach
During 2024-2025, CAP offered in-person arts programs and experiences to children and young adults across Northeast Florida, including at public schools, community centers and partner sites. Through its afterschool and daytime arts education and integration programs, CAP reached 4,328 students through 265 programs at 61 sites. CAP employed 15 part-time teaching artists, 12 full-time teaching artist fellows and 22 assistants. More than 22 performance, field trip and exhibition opportunities were provided to CAP students throughout the year.
Program Partners
Amelia Art Studio
The Bolles School | Ponte Vedra
Cornerstone Classical Academy
Duval County Public Schools
Global Leadership Academy | Arts
Global Leadership Academy | Discovery
GRASP Academy
Growing Together Behavioral Center
Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church
Hope Haven
Jacksonville Classical Academy
John E. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility
Keys Educational Resource Center
Mayport Naval Station
My Tutor Connections
North Florida School for Special Education
Our Homeroom Jax
PossAbilities Plus
River City Science Academy
Sanctuary on 8th Street
Swiss Cove Christian Church
Youth Crisis Center
Become a Partner Site
Interested in bringing CAP’s nationally recognized arts education program to your school, organization or neighborhood? Contact Vice President of Programs Luisa Reis at luisa@capkids.org.