Cleveland Play House Awarded AAEDD Grant For CARE Program

Cleveland Play House (CPH) has been awarded a grant through the Assistance for Arts Education Development and Dissemination Grants Program (AAEDD), which will provide $2 million to continue and expand Compassionate Arts Remaking Education (CARE) over the next four years. CPH, in partnership with the Cleveland Municipal School District, will add an additional six teachers, and expand to a total of 10 schools and reach over 4,100 students with CARE.

The AAEDD, formerly known as the Arts in Education - Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program, awarded approximately $12 million in new grants in 2018 for the AAEDD grant program. CPH was one of only 22 grants awarded from the 96 applicants, and the only theatre to be included. AAEDD is administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

The AAEDD supports the enhancement, expansion, documentation, evaluation and dissemination of innovative, cohesive models that are based on research. They must also demonstrate that they have integrated standards-based arts education into the core elementary and middle school curriculum, strengthened the instruction for those grades and improved the students' academic performance. Skills improved must include creating, performing and responding to the arts. Originally conceived to utilize theatre integrated lessons and self-curated, digital learning labs to increase academic readiness and literacy learning while developing essential theatre skills for students living in poverty, CARE will be furthered developed to include differentiation curriculum, the development of supplemental curriculum specifically for students encountering multiple adverse childhood experiences or chronic trauma leading to Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, as well as companion curriculum and digital mini-labs for classroom teachers. Professional development sessions in trauma-informed care and companion coaching for educators will increase capacity to build a positive school culture.

CPH uses theatre skills as tools to bond community with community, to bolster our knowledge of ourselves and others, and to amplify our artistic awareness as participants and practitioners. With CARE, CPH artists use theatre to help students recognize and manage their emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations constructively and ethically. In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, CARE served roughly 2,380 students, and 107 teachers at 15 schools (including summer residencies). With the awarded grant, CARE will continue to grow in the CMSD community of schools to build on these numbers within the four years to reach over 4,100 students from grades K-8.

"Theatre offers the most effective vehicle to deliver one of the oldest and most central tenets of education: to create responsible, productive citizens equipped with critical life skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity," says Director of Education at CPH, Pamela DiPasquale. "Cleveland Play House is honored to deepen our century old partnership with CMSD and Cleveland's scholars in the continued development of our CARE program."

"Having the Cleveland Play House as a partner to deliver world class theatre artistry coupled with evidence based social-emotional learning is a gift to the CMSD family, and we are thrilled to take this next bold step together," states Jeffery Allen, Director of Arts Education at CMSD. "The impact to date has been tremendous, and this expansion will open the doors to the great "what if" in ways we can only begin to imagine."

Cleveland Play House, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, led by Artistic Director Laura Kepley and Managing Director Kevin Moore, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. clevelandplayhouse.com

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