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Board to consider Arts Education Plan 2; arts groups urge adoption to protect access and quality
Summary
Staff recommended adoption of the CPS Arts Education Plan 2 ("Cultivating Creativity") for 2025'2030 at the July board meeting; presenters and arts organizations testified in support and staff said adoption carries no immediate funding request but implementation will require future funding decisions.
Cesar Torreya, Executive Director of Arts Education in the Office of Teaching and Learning, told the Agenda Review Committee on July 9 that staff will recommend board adoption of the CPS Arts Education Plan 2: Cultivating Creativity (2025'2030) at the July 24 board meeting. Torreya said the plan shifts district policy from focusing on access to a dual emphasis on access and quality, sets two clear goals (equitable access and high-quality instruction across arts disciplines), and was developed through extensive stakeholder engagement including 17 engagement sessions, 12 focus groups, a districtwide student survey with more than 2,000 respondents, a 50-member working group, and an interagency advisory council.
Torreya told the board that formal adoption of the resolution does not, at this time, request implementation funding; instead staff will return with cost implications when they bring implementation plans. Board members asked how the district would staff arts positions (teacher pipelines, geographic recruitment) and how the plan connects to postsecondary and career pathways; Torreya described existing programs including Realize, a dual-enrollment early-college credit program at Wells in partnership with Columbia College Chicago, and partnerships with about 750 community arts organizations.
Representatives from arts organizations testified in support during public participation: Nicole Upton (Ingenuity), Amy Rasmussen (Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education / CAPE), Leslie Honore (Urban Gateways), and others urged the board to adopt the plan to sustain gains made since the 2012 plan and to expand quality and career pathways. Speakers cited district data showing increased arts participation and improvements in arts ratings but acknowledged persistent gaps in quality and geographic equity.
If adopted, staff said the plan provides a framework to align policy, instructional expectations, measurement and quality improvement systems, and partnership strategies. Staff will present implementation cost estimates and a fuller presentation on July 24.
What this means: Adoption would signal board support for a citywide framework for arts education through 2030; any new funding requests for staffing, facilities, or programming will be presented later for board approval.
