Michael Hinojosa, general superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, is hiring 140 new arts teachers this year. It is the latest and perhaps most remarkable step in a 10-year effort by policymakers, educators and community leaders to ensure that every student in Dallas has access to quality arts learning experiences in and out of school. Dallas considers the experiences it wants for all students "creative learning" and sees the arts as crucial. In doing so, it embraces a growing national awareness revealed in public opinion polling and national reports demanding that schools renew their commitment to fostering the imaginative capacities that will restore America's role as a leader in innovation and creativity. In this article, the author discusses the importance of the arts in developing student's imagination and creativity, the cognitive capacities that are developed as students tackle the specific challenges of an art form, the major culprit for the absence of imaginative and creative learning in schools, and the impact of arts education in high-poverty, high-performing schools.