This suite of tools and resources is designed for Fine & Performing Arts School MCLTs, Arts Leadership Teams, other teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders as they work to align their school’s systems, structures, and practices to the Fine & Performing Arts School Standards for Success.
Fine & Performing Arts School Overview Documents
Fine & Performing Arts School Definition: Defines what it means to embody a Fine & Performing Arts program at a CPS school.
Magnet Cluster Lead Teacher (MCLT) Role Definition: Defines the role and responsibilities of a Magnet Cluster Lead Teacher (MCLT) in a Fine & Performing Arts School.
Arts Leadership Team Definition: Defines the role and responsibilities of an Arts Leadership Team in a Fine & Performing Arts School.
Fine and Performing Arts Schools Standards for Success
The newly released Fine & Performing Arts School Standards for Success, developed across six key areas of excellence, are guideposts to ensure the arts are flourishing in CPS Fine & Performing Arts Schools. These standards outline best practices and expectations in the following areas—all aspects of a school community that embodies a fine and performing arts focus:
- Mission-driven, distributed leadership
- Institutional capacity
- School structures
- High-quality classroom practice in single-strand arts education
- High-quality classroom practice in arts integration
- Community and career connections
Downloadable Standards for Success: The current Standards for Success in CPS Fine & Performing Arts Schools.
Standards for Success Addenda: Additional considerations and recommendations for arts classroom spaces, best practices in arts teaching and learning, and quality arts assessments in CPS Fine & Performing Arts Schools.
Standards for Success Self-Assessment: A diagnostic tool designed to capture current practice aligned to the Standards for Success. We encourage multiple stakeholders in each school (arts teachers, teachers in other subject areas, administrators, LSC members, etc.) to take this assessment to capture a variety of perspectives. Once your school has completed the self-assessment, the Department of Arts Education will share an individual school data report with school leadership.
Standards for Success Tools & Resources
1. Mission-Driven, Distributed Leadership
Building Mission and Vision Statements: A resource that builds understanding of a mission statement, a vision statement, and parallels and comparisons between the two.
Mission and Vision Protocols: Protocols to support school leaders and MCLTs in aligning a school’s mission and/or vision statement with the Fine & Performing Arts Program Focus.
- ASCD Process: If you are just starting out, consider using this ASCD process for developing a vision and a mission statement.
- SRI Future Protocol: If your ideas are formulated but not fully formalized, consider using this School Reform Initiative’s Future Protocol.
- Portrait of a Graduate: If you have a mission statement but not a vision, consider using this Portrait of a Graduate exercise. We recommend creating a vision statement in addition to a graphic.
CIWP Planning Companion Guide: This guide is designed to support schools as they incorporate content area instruction (such as arts education) and programmatic focus areas (such as Fine and Performing Arts) into their Continuous Improvement Work Plan. NOTE: This companion guide is from the SY19-20 CIWP cycle and may be replaced with an updated version soon.
2. Institutional Capacity
Arts Addendum to the CPS Framework for Teaching: This document shares how important and unique aspects of arts teaching practice align to the CPS Framework for Teaching. School administrators and arts educators should review this document prior to and during the REACH pre‐observation conference, observation, and post‐observation conference for more information about arts practice. Learn more about the Arts Addendum.
Arts Leadership Team Definition: Defines the role and responsibilities of an Arts Leadership Team in a Fine & Performing Arts School.
3. School Structures
Fine & Performing Arts Funding Template; Fine & Performing Arts Teacher Job Description: These documents include a funding template that provides guidance around your centralized program funding (including any centrally-provided FTEs, incubation or implementation funds, and any other program funding), as well as a complete job description for your Fine & Performing Arts teacher.
SY21-22 Principal Planning Guidance – Arts Education (ES): This document provides guidance around budgetary planning for arts education at the elementary school level.
SY21-22 Principal Planning Guidance – Arts Education (HS): This document provides guidance around budgetary planning for arts education at the high school level.
4. High Quality Classroom Practice – Single Strand Arts Education
Illinois Arts Learning Standards Toolkit: A toolkit of resources to support alignment of arts classroom practices to the updated Illinois Arts Learning Standards.
5. High Quality Classroom Practice – Arts Integration
Arts Integration Toolkit: A toolkit of resources that help teachers and schools practice effective arts integration.
6. Community and Career Connections
artlook® map: An interactive map that helps schools search for potential arts partnerships.
Fine and Performing Arts Schools Professional Learning
The Department of Arts Education offers multiple opportunities throughout the school year for MCLTs, Arts Leadership Teams, teachers and administrators from Fine & Performing Arts Schools to learn strategies and acquire tools for aligning school-wide systems and structures to the Standards for Success.