Weigh in on Chicago Public Schools arts education

Chicago Public Schools is hosting a series of roundtable discussions for the public to weigh in on the future of arts education.

Why it matters: Research shows art education is as essential as subjects like math, science and language arts, and can improve students' attendance. It's also key to social and emotional learning, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Driving the news: CPS released a draft of its five-year strategic plan this week, which notes that "100% of schools will have the resource capacity to hire full-time arts" staff.

• In-person public forums start today to provide feedback for CPS' Arts Education Plan 2.0: Cultivating Creativity , which was announced in spring.
• The first roundtable is 5:30pm Wednesday at Olive-Harvey CCC .

By the numbers: Nearly half of all Chicago schools have only one arts teacher position, and some of those are not filled yet. An assessment last year from nonprofit Ingenuity also found the following:

• 445 schools had one art teacher assigned to 350 students or less
• 183 schools had an average of 120 minutes of weekly arts instruction
• 69 schools had one arts teacher per 1,000 students or more

Zoom out: CPS says the goal of the Arts Education Plan 2.0 — an update to its last plan from 2012 — is to be "a visionary document that defines the next evolution of CPS arts education priorities, practices, and policies" rather than a granular roadmap or a plan with hard deadlines.

State of play: A CPS spokesperson says the district currently has 1,141 art teachers, about 100 more than a couple years ago.

• CPS budgets a median of $10.70 per elementary school student for arts education, up from $7.09 in 2021.
• According to the Chicago Teachers Union's online tracker for job vacancies, CPS has 58 open arts positions.

The intrigue: CTU is arguing for more arts support as it negotiates its next contract with CPA. Some of CTU's demands include:

• Each school shall have a minimum annual fine arts budget equivalent to $15 per student.
• A full-time certified arts teacher per every 350 students, plus another art teacher for every additional 175 students beyond that.
• Number of students in fine arts classes, including media arts, should not exceed available equipment used in the class.

What's next: CPS plans to incorporate feedback from the roundtables and present a final version of Arts Education Plan 2.0 to the Board of Education next spring.

Go deeper: See the complete roundtable schedule here .