Office of Arts Education

The Chicago Teachers’ Center of Northeastern Illinois University

The Chicago Teachers’ Center of Northeastern Illinois University has a long term commitment and established track record in providing professional development (PD) and implementation for improving schools and student achievement. Through teacher PD and direct classroom support in arts integration, CTCs Arts at the Center of Teaching and Learning programming improves literacy and student achievement PreK-12, across all subject areas. Playwriting, theater arts, music, visual arts, dance and writing become the vehicle for academic exploration. The creation and implementation of standards based integrated curricular lessons is at the core of our work, and together with a cadre of teaching artists, teaching teams engage students in learning- through and in the arts. Arts at the Center developed its theory and practice on lessons learned in the ten year development of the nationally recognized Lakeview Education and Arts Partnership initiative, a community-based partnership, which demonstrated how arts integration is a major component of whole school change. This expertise defines our model, which has consistently been shown to raise student achievement, help teachers practice strategic and creative thinking about curriculum development, and facilitate the creation of learning environments that are intellectually engaging and fully supportive of the arts.

Overview of School Programs/Services

Classroom Support/Curricular Alignment