Arts ABLE Project Overview
Arts ABLE is a locally-initiated and research-based program that utilizes arts instruction and integration to meet the instructional needs of students at risk of academic failure in the Saint Paul Public School District. The model for Arts ABLE develops sustainable arts education through increased knowledge, skills, and comfort in teaching the arts for staff, arts specialists, and classroom teachers.

Project Goals and Objectives
1. Improve at-risk and other students’ achievement on standardized tests and in the arts at
five replication sites

2. Replicate ten strategic elements of action that are identified as necessary to effectively integrate
the arts into a school’s curriculum

3. Expand, produce, and disseminate model program information, materials and tools based on
the results and processes developed by Arts ABLE schools.

Background About the Arts ABLE Model
A total of seven schools participated in the three-year project with two of the schools being veteran schools and another five who were considered replication schools. The two veteran schools (J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet Elementary and Phalen Lake Elementary) were selected because they represented two model schools in the Saint Paul Public School District (SPPS) – ISD 625; schools who for seven years had modeled the elementary school partnership with two community-based arts organizations, East side Arts Council and ArtStart.