English language learners were more likely to attend school and to meet the STAAR passing standards in reading and math when their teachers used creative teaching strategies more frequently.

In this report, we grouped students into three distinct categories, based on patterns that emerged in arts participation during high school, which we named spartans, explorers, and deep divers. Our hope is that understanding these patterns in arts participation will inform how we strategize for more equitable access to the arts during high school.

This report explains the Creative Learning Initiative’s new measures that evaluate visual and performing arts participation at all secondary schools.

This report examines the impact of Creative Teaching techniques on students’ academic growth on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and math tests from 2016–2017 to 2017–2018.

This report summarizes the CLI implementation activities. Overall, CLI implementation in 2018–2019 was comparable to prior years and continues to have a positive impact on students.

This report discusses the relationship between sequential fine arts participation and student outcomes for the school year 2017–2018 and how the relationships differ between based on student characteristics (i.e. race, ethnicity, special education status and limited English speaking status).

This report, the second in a series of three on CLI, shares teacher’s reactions to training in Creative Teaching, how and why they use it in the classroom, and how that usage relates to student outcomes.

At the Texas Cultural Trust, our mission is to be the leading voice for the arts in education, advocacy, and economic impact in Texas, spotlighting the artistic excellence of our state. We believe the arts reflect our creativity and culture.

Check out the Creative Campus Profiles for the 2016–2017 school year.

Access, Creative Teaching, and the Community Arts Network

Check out the Creative Campus Profiles for the 2015–2016 school year.

AISD is approximately halfway to its goal of 100% creative campuses. Students at CLI campuses had more access to the arts than did students at non-CLI campuses. This is reflected in school-time instruction and through access to arts partnerships.

Data presented in this report linked positive outcomes for AISD with implementation of CLI. CLI community-wide efforts to empower students through creative learning and the arts projects a bright image of Austin.

At the Texas Cultural Trust, our goal is to provide leadership to promote and highlight the importance of the arts in educating our children and sustaining our vibrant Texas economy. We believe that supporting the arts ensures Texas’ cultural and economic advantage for the future.

The CLI teachers reported that professional development activities had a positive impact on their capacity to implement creative teaching. Students’ attendance rates were higher when their teachers were more competent in implementing creative teaching.

The CLI had a positive impact on teachers and students, as well as the district. Teachers reported positive experiences with the program activities and positive changes in student engagement, behavior, and student achievement.

The Creative Learning Initiative (CLI), a collective impact partnership among the Austin Independent School District (AISD), the city of Austin, and MINDPOP (an arts organization dedicated to expanding creative learning in Austin and representing over 50 arts and cultural agencies), created arts-rich schools at a rate that exceeded the benchmark goal.