Drama and Arts Curriculum

[MomtoFive]

We are a family with five children who will be going through the public school system and are possibly moving to the Chicago area before the start of the 2012-13 school year. We are interested in a magnet school for two of our middle-school children. One is gifted in the drawing arts and would benefit, I believe, in a curriculum that has lots of enrichment opportunities for those students with this talent. Another has a passion for the performing arts, specifically drama and public speaking. Do others here have experience or suggestions as to where to begin looking at a potential neighborhood with really good magnet schools?

[oneandonlyone]

Oh, welcome! It's a big process here in Chicago. Start here: http://cpsobsessed.com/the-basics-of-cps/ .... with a sense of humor. My daughter is at Pritzker in Wicker Park, a fine and performing arts elementary through middle school. Where will you be coming from?

[Benji]

I love that CPS has such great schools focused on the Arts. I come from an area where the schools are only focused on the basics and we were lucky that our child was in the only school in the district with a music program. I only hope that it will not be a difficult process to get into one of these schools!

[JenK]

It's great that you are doing your research before moving. Keep in mind that Magnet schools are LOTTERY and that even living across the street does not guarantee that you'll get in. Donating money, time, or a science lab to the school will not help your chances these days. Check out neighborhood schools that have a concentration (called magnet cluster?) in the arts so you can guarantee yourself spots for the kids. I'm sorry I can't help with suggestions in that area.

[Mich]

Yes, magnet clusters have a concentration. A magnet cluster is a neighborhood school first (so takes all comers from their area) then open up remaining slots to kids citywide. There are a lot of them actually (http://cpsoae.org/apps/pages/index.j...pREC_ID=151365) so you may think about the area you want to live and target those first. Depending on the school, you may have a decent shot at getting middle-schoolers in. Newer programs are full at the bottom but not at the top and some can still have prinicpals entering kids at upper levels if there's no competition for those slots.

[CPSObsessed]

This site can help select a place to live based on school "quality."
https://schoolsparrow.com/

Also the CPS school locator.
http://cps.edu/Schools/Find_a_school...ollocator.aspx

Waters was my old neighborhood school and it has a very strong arts program and a great art teacher. You have to live in the neighborhood to attend in the lower grades, but upper (6-8) may have some spaces open via lottery.

[c.l.ball]

I love that CPS has such great schools focused on the Arts.

"Focused" is not quite correct. In CPS-land, being a "fine arts" school means that you have at least two and sometimes three teachers in the fine arts -- visual art, music, and drama. For those of us who went to schools where we had a separate art teacher and a separate music teacher, the separate drama teacher is the only innovation. I can't speak for 6-8 gr., but, in K-5, this means that students have two fine-arts classes each week (with one class changing each quarter among the three subjects).

Don't get me wrong, that is better than nothing, but if you are expecting daily arts instruction, you will be disappointed. That said, at Mayer, we have Spanish language classes once a week as well.

[Kiki]

My two kids go to an arts magnet. They have separate teachers for art, drama, music, dance, and piano. My sons gets piano and music each twice a week. Next 'semester' he will get piano and either drama or art, his pick. He would get both drama or art but he wanted piano and thus gives up a fine art. When he's in 6th grade, he will pick a fine art he likes the best and get a double period of this fine art twice a week.

So, there are schools that do focus on the arts- this school has a mission to expand educational excellence through the use of arts. There are also two big shows a year: a holiday program and then one in the spring. The one in the spring has a different focus each year: visual arts, dance & singing, etc. Each of the grade levels is involved in both these shows. Of course, the older graduating classes are highlighted but everyone gets a hand in the shows weather they are performing or making sets or involved in the staging and the other duties that go along with the show.

[c.l.ball]

Which school is that? It's very good that you can get 4 "specials" aside from library and PE each week. Some quarters we have this, three art classes and a Spanish class, but not all quarters. I like the the double-subject system rotating each quarter.

That said, I still think it is deplorable that once/week art and music are not standard at all CPS schools.