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Shy Arts parents and teachers warn conservatory at risk as CPS cuts staff
Summary
Multiple parents, teachers and arts instructors told the board that the conversion of Chicago High School for the Arts has left the conservatory and special education services endangered after the district cut or declined to rehire many teaching artists and special-education staff.
Parents, teachers and teaching artists from the Chicago High School for the Arts (Shy Arts) appealed to the board on May 13 to preserve the school’s conservatory model and restore staff allocations after weeks of layoffs and staffing uncertainty.
Gustavo Cortinz, a drum instructor at the school, said the community is three weeks from the end of the school year with “no clear path forward” for pre-professional arts training, and warned that the district’s incoming leadership had not shown demonstrated urgency to retain over 50 teaching artists. “Please do not jeopardize the future of this institution a moment longer. Commit funding for our conservatories,” Cortinz said.
Dara Miller, a parent and longtime advocate, said promised preservation of the conservatory had not yet translated to a hiring plan, course catalog or bell schedule for next year. “Without a clear hiring path, we are on track to lose the very experts who built this school,” Miller said.
Phoebe Peterson, a Shy Arts special-education teacher, detailed recent reductions to the special-education department and warned that decreased staffing could jeopardize legally required IEP minutes and risk corrective action or funding consequences. “We must ensure our most marginalized students’ right to a free and appropriate public education,” Peterson said.
School advocates also criticized the timing and process. Lisa Miranda described the community as in a state of “medical crisis” from the uncertainty and urged the board to provide budget allocations sufficient to retain teaching artists, counselors and other support staff.
What’s next: Speakers asked the board to honor earlier commitments to preserve the conservatory model and to provide immediate clarity on budget allocations and hiring timelines for next school year. District staff did not offer an immediate final plan during public comment; board members acknowledged the urgency and said staff would follow up.
