{"id":429918,"date":"2026-10-16T22:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429918\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T22:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:22:13","slug":"cathedral-arts-project-will-expand-arts-education-through-its-largest-federal-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429918\/","title":{"rendered":"Cathedral Arts Project will expand arts education through its largest federal grant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cathedral Arts Project<\/a> announced it will use the largest public grant award to expand arts education to children on the First Coast and beyond.<\/p>\n

Thursday, the nonprofit announced that the $3.95 million in federal, state and philanthropic grants will triple the number of families it\u2019s able to serve.<\/p>\n

The largest portion is a $2.5 million award, over three years, from the U.S. Department of Education that will provide professional development for scores of arts educators across America.<\/p>\n

The CEO of Cathedral Arts Project, the Rev. Kimberley Hyatt, expects the knowledge and ideas that have been allowed to foment in Jacksonville will be shared across the country.<\/p>\n

\"CathedralThe Rev. Kimberley Hyatt has served as CEO of the Cathedral Arts Project for 24 years. Hyatt announced Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, that the $2.55 million from the U.S. Department of Education is the largest federal grant the organization has won in its 33-year history. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Education allocated another $991,000 in its 2026-27 fiscal budget for Cathedral Arts Project.<\/p>\n

The Cathedral Arts Project<\/a> served more than 4,300 students in the 2025-26 academic year. This new round of federal, state and philanthropic funding will allow the Jacksonville nonprofit to bring an additional 7,100 children from across America under its creative wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have documented improvements in school attendance, behavior and academic performance,\u201d Hyatt said during Thursday\u2019s announcement inside CAP\u2019s headquarters. \u201cThose are meaningful outcomes for students today, with enormous implications for the workforce and communities of tomorrow. \u2026 We are living through a historic transformation. Artificial intelligence is changing everything. And, while we cannot predict what the world is going to look like for the students we are teaching today, we know that the future is going to demand far more than the ability to memorize information and perform routine tasks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cathedral Arts Project expects that the state dollars will help it expand its arts education programs for children in military families.<\/p>\n

\"A\u2019laiyaA\u2019laiya Crew, 12, says the dance class Jacqueline Peterson teaches through Cathedral Arts Project\u2019s dance ensemble has helped her find community in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

A\u2019laiya Crew is 12 and a member of CAP\u2019s dance ensemble. She is the daughter of a former Navy petty officer who found a community through Jacqueline Peterson\u2019s dance class.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s where I meet other military kids and where we feel welcomed and have fun,\u201d A\u2019laiya said. \u201cAnd most importantly, it\u2019s where I let my feelings out when I miss my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

A\u2019laiya\u2019s dad, Tray Crew, stood 20 feet away and beamed as she spoke. A\u2019laiya\u2019s mother, Montoya, didn\u2019t have to say she was proud of her daughter\u2019s progress. Her tears spoke instead.<\/p>\n

Cathedral Arts Project and schools<\/p>\n

Duval County Superintendent Christopher Bernier says arts education is a phenomenal complement to the other curricula the district offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons we have been so successful as a school system is our thriving arts program and great partners like the Cathedral Arts Project,\u201d Bernier said. \u201cIt\u2019s just really important that our kids have this outlet. I say it often: Sometimes, kids get up in the morning to go to Algebra I. But, a lot of others get up to be a part of the play, draw, be part of an art class, perform. It\u2019s really important to them and their total round out as a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, is a believer in CAP\u2019s mission. He says he will request \u00a0additional state funding for the organization when the 2027 legislative session begins in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s working. It\u2019s not just stuff that sounds good,\u201d Yarborough said. \u201cIt\u2019s things that are really helping the kids and really helping these families. \u2026 I look forward to advocating for them to get more dollars next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cathedral Arts Project has raised more than $26.5 million in private funding since 2019. That type of private commitment, Yarborough says, is additional evidence of the community investment in the organization\u2019s programming.<\/p>\n

Hyatt says rising reliance on artificial intelligence enhances the value of creatives who can work with people. Through its teaching fellowships, CAP has provided opportunities for burgeoning cellists, violinists, thespians \u2014 and in A\u2019laiya\u2019s case \u2014 dance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAs our technology becomes more capable, the more important human creativity becomes,\u201d Hyatt says. \u201cThe lessons that arts education teach, they are not simply relevant to our future. I believe they are absolutely essential for us to have a future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Reporter Will Brown\u2019s child has participated in CAP programming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cathedral Arts Project announced it will use the largest public grant award to expand arts education to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-429918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}