ALEXANDRIA — Perpich Center for Arts Education recently announced the 2025-2027 award recipients for Minnesota’s Comprehensive Arts Planning Program .

Alexandria Public Schools is among the eight recipients. The other seven are Academias La Paz, Big Lake Schools, Brainerd Public Schools, International Spanish Language Academy, Inver Grove Heights Schools, Little Falls Community Schools and Waconia Public Schools.

The purpose of this legislatively-funded program is to support and assist a local school district’s arts planning team in creating a district-wide, three-year strategic arts plan. CAPP provides financial and technical assistance to guide the strategic planning process through workshops, site visits, leadership development and resource materials.

“As a district, we always look to maximize our resources in support of quality instruction for our students," said APS Superintendent Rick Sansted in a news release from the Perpich Center for Arts Education . "Alexandria Public Schools recognizes the profound impact that this initiative will have on the arts and community development, and we are eager to contribute our membership toward its success.”

With the help of the Perpich Professional Development program, school districts form a CAPP committee of district and community stakeholders — arts specialists, administrators, parents, classroom teachers, community members and/or students — with an active and wide-ranging interest in the arts and arts education. The local CAPP committee has the responsibility to create a comprehensive arts education plan.

“We are very excited to embark upon our 20th CAPP cohort. I’m continually inspired by the dedication of the incoming arts education teams...who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on the continuous improvement of arts education programming in their district,” said Kristi Johnson, Comprehensive Arts Planning Program specialist, in the news release. “It is incredibly impressive to see so many school district staff and community members invested in arts education programming, willing to examine the gaps and opportunities currently provided and passionate about telling the story of the daily impact on students’ lives.”

Allegra Smisek, executive director of Perpich Center for Arts Education, said in the news release that as a member of the selection, she was struck by the strength and thoughtfulness of this year's CAPP applications. She said that choosing just eight disticts was no easy task and that throughout the process, the committee engaged in rich, reflective discussion in choosing the recipients.

"Ultimately, we prioritized artistic vision, community readiness and the opportunity to support schools and districts that offer both multicultural and geographic representation from across our state,” said Smisek. "I’m excited for this next cohort and deeply hopeful about the impact they’ll have – not just on arts education, but on the creative lives of students and communities throughout Minnesota.”