CAPP continues to provide art education for students

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WORTHINGTON — Worthington’s Comprehensive Arts Planning Program (CAPP) committee has been working this past year to advocate a bond between the city and schools in support of the arts.

As the committee moves into the second year of its five-year plan, members presented their grant work at a District 518 Board of Education Instructional Committee meeting Monday.

“It (CAPP) is monetary assistance to the school districts that are selected to implement a comprehensive K-12 school arts education program,” said music teacher Jeanne Mammen, who also co-chairs the committee with Jeanette Jenson.

In 2009, the school district’s music staff submitted a grant application for arts education.

“We thought our community was ready for a school/community-type grant to bring upon art awareness,” Jenson said.

Through a $10,000 grant, Worthington CAPP had roles in the Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival as well as the International Festival. It also brought in a dance artist to work with fourth- and eighth-grade students.

A major requirement from the grant was that the money needed to be used by June 2010, according to Jenson.

“We have to be self-supportive now until 2015,” Jensen said.

The committee is requesting the school district to consider supporting its future efforts through an annual stipend. The recommendation will be made by the instructional committee at the next school board meeting.

In other news, District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard discussed the acceleration of growth in student enrollment and what it could mean for facility space, or lack thereof.

Based on a four-year projection, District 518 is anticipating an increase in total enrollment of about 220 students between school years 2011-2012 and 2015-2016.

“When we did the middle school (and) high school revamps, there was no way we could anticipate these kind of numbers,” Landgaard said. “That was to be a seven- to 10-year model before we get to these kinds of numbers.”

In response to ongoing discussion of a possible technology integration specialist contract, the cost has been noted to be $450 a day.

If the district decides to incorporate a technology integration specialist, the committee discussed ideas of measuring its effectiveness. A further discussion will take place during the next school board meeting.

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