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Shy Arts teachers and families urge CPS to preserve pre‑professional conservatory model
Summary
Faculty, students and union representatives from the Chicago High School for the Arts (Shy Arts) told the board that a district proposal to compress the school day would eliminate the school’s 15-hour-a-week conservatory training and undermine access for low‑income students.
Teachers, students and parents from the Chicago High School for the Arts pressed the Chicago Board of Education during public comment on March 4 to preserve the school’s conservatory schedule and programming after district officials presented a proposed compressed schedule.
Philip Leandowski, an English teacher at the school, said the conservatory’s "uninterrupted, intentional conservatory time is crucial to developing and nurturing young scholar artists," and argued that compressing the student day would erase the model’s ability to prepare students for professional arts careers. Multiple speakers said the proposal as presented would force cuts to both arts and academic offerings.
Rebecca Dalvo, a virtual speaker, said that parents and teachers had delivered alternate proposals that address district concerns while keeping the conservatory intact and asked why the district’s guardrails effectively "dismantle the conservatory model." Voice teacher Melissa Arning and visual arts teacher Caitlyn Ryan described how unique classes and schedules allow students to study with professional artists and to access training that would otherwise cost tens of thousands of dollars.
District staff told the board the schedule shown at a previous community meeting was a proposal and not final; staff said they plan stakeholder meetings, including one March 11, to refine options. The district also said replicating the full conservatory model would cost roughly $3 million and stressed the need to identify a sustainable model that could be maintained over time.
Board members asked for more concrete financial details and for the department of arts education to be centrally involved in planning. Teachers and parents urged the board to work with the school community to keep the school’s essential elements — the 8 a.m.–5 p.m. structure, 15 hours per week of conservatory training, and dedicated teaching artists — intact.
Next steps: CPS will hold stakeholder sessions (district staff identified a March 11 meeting) and will present updates to the board; parents requested continued involvement and a written plan that shows how the conservatory can be preserved or replicated in a fiscally sustainable way.
