Cleveland Play House Partners with United Way to Improve Cleveland Schools Through the Arts

Cleveland Play House (CPH) announces its commitment to offer social service support and improve academic success at Cleveland's Robert Jamison Elementary School, as part of a wraparound strategy developed by United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. CPH is one of just 13 nonprofits to be named a "lead agency" in this exciting new strategy. A total of 17 schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District have been assigned lead agencies who, through their own unique approaches to education, will help turn these schools into thriving 21st century learning centers.

Each school's program will be tailored specifically to meet the needs of their students, families and the surrounding community. Beginning this week, each of the lead agencies will host community meetings where families are invited to strategize about what their schools need most. Subsequently, Cleveland Play House and the other lead agencies will begin the process of hiring full-time site coordinators who will serve as liaisons between themselves and the schools.

"At CPH, our core values are Artistry, Education and Community." says Artistic Director Laura Kepley. "Our work with Robert Jamison School will be a living example of those values in action. We are grateful to the United Way for the opportunity to serve our community in this deep, immersive and meaningful way."

Using the arts as a means to educate Cleveland's youth is nothing new to Cleveland Play House, the nation's first regional theatre. CPH Director of Education Pamela DiPasquale states, "We think of arts as a social service." In fact, education programs remain a key part of CPH's mission and vision. Currently, more than 5,000 students and staff attend free matinees or tour the theatres at CPH each year. CPH also regularly collaborates with schools and educators through programs such as the artist-in-residence program, where educators are assigned a CPH mentor who assists them in integrating an arts-based curriculum into the classroom. In addition, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital sponsors the Classroom Matinee Touring Program, and KeyBank has been the longtime sponsor of the KeyBank CPH College program.