Ingenuity State of the Arts Progress Report 2015-2016 | Page 78

appendix GLOSSARY Community Arts Partner Adjusted Average For the purposes of this report, “adjusted average” refers to the average taken from those schools whose data falls within two standard deviations of the mean. Schools with data points beyond these boundaries are known as outliers and have data significantly higher or lower than the average. Outlier schools have been removed from analyses in order to offer an accurate picture of school practices. Arts Integration The meaningful connection of essential content in an arts discipline subject and essential content in another subject area such that student achievement in both subject areas increases. Arts Liaison A school staff member nominated by the principal to serve as the school’s voluntary arts leader and champion. Arts Liaisons help coordinate and plan all school arts instruction and share information via Schools on community arts partners, school budgets, arts staffing, planning, and resources. ® Suite The Ingenuity-created data suite of services made up of Schools, Partners, and Map. The Schools system collects each CPS school’s number of arts instructors, community arts partnerships, disciplines taught, and relevant budget data. The Partners system collects data from community arts partners, shows the schools and communities where they work, and gathers the demographic information on the students they serve. Both systems help to populate Map, an interactive online tool for the public to view all reported arts education-related activities. Charter School A public school open to all Chicago children that is approved by the Chicago Board of Education but operates independently from the Board and from other charter schools. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Arts Education Plan A three-year plan approved in fall 2012 that made arts a core subject and recommended, among other initiatives, that elementary schools provide 120 minutes of weekly arts instruction and that high schools offer credits in at least two arts disciplines. 78 Any one of a broad spectrum of program providers ranging from an individual teaching artist working with a single school, to grassroots and large nonprofits working with one to 150 schools, to major cultural institutions such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which works with nearly 200 schools. Community arts partners might also include providers of arts education resources—mostly in-kind donations of materials and supplies, exhibition space, volunteers, and so on. Common Core State Standards New standards adopted by 46 states, including Illinois, that outline a higher bar for what students must know in order to succeed in college and careers. Contract School Public schools open to all CPS students and operated by private entities—community organizations, foundations, educators, and universities. Each has a curriculum, calendar, schedule, and admissions procedure that may differ from those of other public schools. Core Subject A body of knowledge that all students are expected to learn and is not an elective subject. Creative Compass Program A program which helps Emerging schools move up the Creative Schools Certification ladder, increase leaders’ knowledge in the arts, and receive ongoing support for building more robust arts programs. School principals from Emerging schools are paired with principals from Excelling schools, who share best practices as well as effective and innovative real-life models for arts planning and implementation. As a result, the Emerging schools’ principals build strategic partnerships, increase resources, and receive direct support in making arts-based decisions through one-on-one technical assistance. Creative Schools Certification (CSC) Identifies the level of arts instruction provided in each CPS school based on data regarding staffing, minutes of instruction, budget, culture, and partnerships. Creative Schools Certification Categories Excelling (Category 1) Schools that meet the goals and priorities outlined in the CPS Arts Education Plan, including Staffing and Instruction, Partnerships, Community and Culture, and Budget and Planning.