Ingenuity State of the Arts Report 2016-17 Ingenuity_SOTA_2016-17 | Page 71

CONCLUSION

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Over five years , the Chicago arts education community has made tremendous progress toward the goals and recommendations of the CPS Arts Education Plan . The share of schools that are rated as Strong or Excelling in the arts has increased by 128 percent . More schools are allocating money from their school budgets to hire arts instructors , and as a result more schools are meeting CPS ’ recommended instructor-to-student ratio of 1:350 . Students are being offered more access to arts education : there has been a 50 percent increase in the share of elementary schools offering the recommended 120 minutes of weekly arts instruction and a 38 percent increase in the share of high schools that are offering three or more multi-level disciplines . Perhaps most impressively , this progress has occurred in the midst of persistent budget challenges at both the district and the school levels .

School Year

� 2012 – 13

� 2016 – 17

While the most pronounced of these budget challenges have abated , continued vigilance will be needed to maintain this level of excellence in arts education and to continue the positive trajectory that is highlighted in this report . Ensuring that CPS students have access to a quality arts education is not a one-time task that can be completed or a box that can be checked . New students arrive in school every fall , and ensuring that these new students , and the generations of students that follow them , have access to quality arts instruction requires renewed dedication , creativity , and support from all those with a stake in those students ’ success .