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Grayslake District 46 presents comprehensive fine-arts program; staff cite high participation and vertical alignment
Summary
District staff and teachers briefed the Board of Education on fine-arts instruction, reporting near-universal access to music and art and outlining recruitment, retention and curriculum-alignment work across grades K–8.
The Community Consolidated School District 46 Board of Education on Wednesday heard a detailed presentation on the district’s fine-arts program, which staff said provides music and visual art instruction to all K–8 students and includes targeted efforts to align curriculum to Illinois standards.
District leaders told the board the work matters because participation and high-quality instruction in music and the visual arts support student engagement, social-emotional learning and long-term retention in ensemble programs.
Administrators and teachers described the program structure and participation rates. Staff said kindergarten through fourth-grade students receive 40 minutes a week of music and 40 minutes a week of art, and grades 5–8 receive daily encore courses (band, choir or encore) for 40 minutes. Presenters said a recent school report card showed about 95% participation under the prior schedule and that a scheduling change this year removed a conflict between encore and intervention services so students can access both.
Jeanette Johnson, a Frederick band director, summarized recruitment and retention in the district’s instrument programs and described multi-year recovery from the COVID-era enrollment dip. "We have seen a steadily increasing, recruitment number since COVID, which is fantastic," Johnson said, reporting that Frederick began this year with about 165 fifth-grade beginning band students and retained roughly 100 into sixth grade.
Presenters outlined how teachers use the Illinois learning standards for music and art to create grade-by-grade progressions and assessment windows; Vanessa Morales, assistant principal at Park Campus, explained staff map standards vertically and plan assessments by trimester so skills deepen year to year. Teachers also showed examples of student work, from recorder compositions in elementary general music to eighth-grade artist portfolios that include artist statements and digital presentations.
District staff described performance and co-curricular activity levels across schools: elementary and middle-school choirs and bands that perform multiple times per year, participation in solo/ensemble contests and community performances, school musicals involving hundreds of students across campuses, and partnerships with the Grayslake Area Public Library for student art exhibitions.
Board members praised the presentations and asked about measures ISBE and the state are using to monitor fine arts. One board member referenced the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) fine-arts indicator deliberations and asked whether the district’s participation, teacher certification and student voice would be reported. Presenters said the district tracks teacher certification in fine arts and is building student voice mechanisms; they said last year’s report card showed teachers in fine-arts roles were appropriately certified.
The presentation closed with staff noting continuing work on recruitment (instrument tryouts, sign-up nights), retention strategies, scheduling to protect instruction time, and outreach for student-led programs such as peer tutoring and advisory-time reforms. Administrators said training and curriculum alignment will continue during late-start professional time and summer sessions in preparation for next year.
