Ingenuity State of the Arts Progress Report 2015-2016 | Page 35
As important as having an arts instructor in a
school is the extent to which that instructor is
able to reach the school’s student body; it helps
to illuminate students’ actual exposure to the
arts. Teacher-student ratios impact schools’
abilities to bring the arts to all students,
This success at the district level has helped
to ensure that an increasing share of schools
within the district meet the desired ratio for
their students. In 2015-16, 73 percent of
schools met or exceeded the goal of a teacherstudent ratio of 1:350, an increase from 68
offer appropriate levels of arts instruction,
and provide greater depth of programming
and coursework (e.g., Music I, Music II, etc.).
Additionally, ratios account for the size of a
school’s student population, and, thus, are
comparable regardless of school size.
percent in 2014-15, and consistent with the
improvement that has occurred in each of
In 2015-16, CPS enrolled approximately
370,500 K-12 students.15 In order to meet the
recommended arts instructor-to-student ratio
of 1:350, the district would have to employ
1,059 arts instructors. With 1,402 identified
arts instructors working in CPS schools, overall,
the district has a strong arts instructor-tostudent ratio of 1:264. While this ratio is
strong, it does not indicate adequate staffing
levels in all schools. With respect to student
access, the largest challenge remains the
equitable distribution of these certified arts
instructors across schools regardless of school
geography, demographics, or economics.
the arts in CPS / staffing
STAFFING RATIOS
In 2015-16, 73 percent of schools met
or exceeded the goal of a teacherstudent ratio of 1:350, an increase from
68 percent in 2014-15, and consistent
with the improvement that has occurred
in each of the four years these data
have been collected.
the four years these data have been collected.
An additional 15 percent of schools had a ratio
between 1:351 and 1:500, 8 percent had a ratio
between 1:501 and 1:750, and 1 percent had a
ratio greater than 1:750. Note that a lower ratio
indicates more arts instructors per student.
As of the 20th day of the 2015-16 school year.
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