Perpich News
2023-2025 CAPP Committees Gather for Spring Conference

Kristi Johnson, CAPP Specialist, speaks to the CAPP Co-Chairs
February 7, 2024
This week, Comprehensive Arts Planning Program (CAPP) committee co-chairs gathered at Perpich Center in Golden Valley for their spring conference. Topics included working with their local school boards with Kathryn Sullivan, Associate Director of Board Development and Learning at Minnesota School Boards Association, and Betsy Anderson, Perpich’s Communications Director and a former school board member; the Arts Education Data Project with Max Clark-Vail, Perpich’s Leadership and Data Specialist; and then time to learn from one another and work more on their own three-year strategic plans. Kristi Johnson, CAPP Specialist, facilitates the program. “It was so great to see everyone in person and be able to share rich conversations!” said Johnson.
The Comprehensive Arts Planning Program is a program designed to support and assist a local school district’s arts planning team in creating a district-wide, three-year strategic arts education plan. This plan addresses arts education policies, programs, and partnerships for students in the school district.

Kathryn Sullivan, Associate Director of Board Development and Learning at Minnesota School Boards Association, discusses working with local school boards.
Every two years, a new cohort of selected school districts start their strategic planning journey. The 2023-2025 CAPP cohort includes Bluffview Montessori (Winona), Central Public Schools (Norwood Young America), Chisholm Public Schools, Duluth Public Schools, Hopkins Public Schools, MACCRAY Public Schools, St. Cloud Area School District, and Yellow Medicine East Schools. CAPP Co-chairs and district administration invite district and community members with an active and wide-ranging interest in the arts and arts education within their school district for their CAPP committee.
One of the fundamental principles of this program lies in its ability to bring together arts educators (and other arts stakeholders) from across a school district to plan with intentionality and practicality. On a larger scale, CAPP continues to foster relationship building for arts educators in their school district and with a larger peer network through the CAPP cohort.

Max Clark-Vail, Perpich’s Leadership and Data Specialist, discusses the Arts Education Data Project.
In the next few months, local CAPP committees will start to finalize their plans and continue to build local support, culminating in seeking school board approval in their school districts.
Competitive applications for the 2025-2027 CAPP cohort will open in December, 2024. Learn more about the program here.