Report: Nearly 90% of CPS Schools Complete Creative Schools Certification

CHICAGO, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ingenuity, Chicago's arts education advocacy organization, today released both a progress report examining arts education in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and announced its 2014 grants to 100 CPS schools through the Creative Schools Fund. Both the report outcomes and the grant making are indicators of the important progress being made in Chicago to ensure that every student receives an arts education.

Click here to read the full report:  http://www.ingenuity-inc.org/filebin/IngenuityProgressReport_FINAL.pdf

Ingenuity's State of the Arts progress report shows that CPS schools have increased arts instruction, staffing, partnerships and funding during the second year of implementing the CPS Arts Education Plan. The report also finds that combined District and external funds committed to arts education in CPS increased 11%, or by nearly $14 million—most of which has been dedicated to CPS' hiring of credentialed arts instructors.

The additional district funding is important given that while 94% of schools reported having an arts instructor; just 55% met the recommended 1:350 instructor to student ratio, which indicates that work remains to ensure that all students receive access to arts instruction.

"CPS schools continue to advance the arts through strong leaders and conscious investments. Our public-private partnership with the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools remains a key component to our supporting the work of the schools while engaging with community arts partners to help schools with their programming. This Progress Report shows that schools are taking steps to ensure an arts education for every CPS student," said Paul Sznewajs, Ingenuity Executive Director. 

Report findings include:

• Of the 371 schools reporting for two consecutive years, growth was seen in minutes of weekly instruction, staffing, arts integration, professional development, and number of arts partnerships.
• Of schools reporting, 94% of students receive weekly arts instruction, while 6% or approximately 24,000 students, have limited exposure to weekly arts instruction or certified arts instructors.

Today Ingenuity is also directing nearly $1 million to 100 schools that applied to the 2014 Creative Schools Fund. The Fund awards grants directly to schools with Arts Liaisons, most of who have requested funds for teacher designed programs to partner with community arts organizations on residencies in dance, music, theatre, and/or visual arts. One school will receive funds for school-wide professional development, and another will receive funds for capital improvements to construct a multi-arts space.

The 100 schools are diverse in geography and Creative Schools Certification category among other factors, and the programs they have applied for are diverse in discipline and content.

See the Complete List of Schools 

CPS compares favorably to other urban school districts by offering lower student to instructor ratios, a higher minimum weekly instruction requirement (120 minutes per K-8 student), and access to arts instruction by a larger number of students. The CPS Creative Schools Certification's "Excelling" schools are among top schools nationally for the provision of dedicated arts staffing and instructional minutes.

Ingenuity serves as Chicago's single hub of information, advocacy, strategy, and partnerships.  Founded through city-wide collaboration, Ingenuity utilizes data for its reports from multiple sources including individual CPS schools and hundreds of community arts partners, all of which feed Ingenuity's artlook Map.

CONTACT: AmySue Mertens, 1-312-583-7463, [email protected]

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SOURCE Ingenuity