As a Magnet Cluster Lead Teacher (MCLT), administrator, or other educator at a Fine and Performing Arts School, you have access to yearly professional learning events to help you hone skills and strategies to support your schools’ implementation of the Fine & Performing Arts Schools Standards for Success.
Program Focus Professional Learning
Creating Conditions for Success Series: This series is designed to support program leads, school leaders, and/or teachers in managing and implementing the complex changes required to shift conditions within the school building to better align with their Program’s Standards. School leaders and program leads at a school with a Fine & Performing Arts, Gifted, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, Personalized Learning, or STE(A)M designation will learn together in quarterly meetings, held in the morning (½ day). Dates include: October 12, 2021; December 8, 2021; February 9, 2022; May 11, 2022. Please plan on attending all 4 sessions.
Student Experience PLC: In this professional learning community, participants will identify areas of focus, engage in shared learning cycles, and will participate in collaborative rounds to observe practices and the student experience at other Program Focus schools. This PLC is open to all school leaders and program leads at a school with a Fine & Performing Arts, Gifted, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, Personalized Learning, or STE(A)M designation. Schools can be in any phase of their programmatic life cycle. School leaders and program leads will learn together in quarterly meetings, held in the morning (½ day). Dates include: November 9, 2021; January 25, 2022; March 22, 2022; May 17, 2022. Please plan on attending all 4 sessions. Please see this document for further details around this PLC.
Program Focus Conditions Incubation Series & Coaching: This series is designed to support the 2021-2022 incubating schools cohort in which participants will engage in monthly learning as school leaders and program leads at new Program Focus schools manage and implement the complex changes required to shift conditions within the school building to prepare to implement a new academic program. Dates include: October 19, 2021; December 7, 2021; January 11, 2022; February 8, 2022; March 8, 2022; May 10, 2022. Please plan on attending all 6 sessions. To find out more information about this convergent Program Focus learning opportunity, please reach out to Shelby Clemons, Program Focus Incubation Manager, at scclemons@cps.edu.
Magnet Cluster Lead Teacher Meetings
In these meetings for Fine & Performing Arts School leads, Magnet Cluster Lead Teachers will connect across schools, reflect on current practice as aligned to program standards, reflect on learning and application of learning from Program Focus PL together with a focus on arts programming, share best practice with one another, and inform program implementation. These meetings are held quarterly in the morning (2 hours). Dates include: October 7, 2021; December 2, 2021; February 24, 2022; May 5, 2022. Please plan on attending all 4 sessions.
Fine & Performing Arts Schools Office Hours
The Department of Arts Education is pleased to offer weekly Fine & Performing Arts Schools Office Hours to support Fine & Performing Arts Schools on a one-on-one basis as needed around program-specific needs. Please sign up in advance, select a date and time slot, and select a focus area aligned to the Standards for Success so that we might be best prepared to support you. All Office Hours are held on Thursdays from 2-5pm weekly. Please follow this link to sign up if interested.
To see an at-a-glance calendar for all Fine & Performing Arts and Program Focus professional learning and supports, please click here. This is a living document, and will be updated should any changes to professional learning event dates be needed.
Other Arts Professional Learning Offerings
Every year, the CPS Department of Arts Education offers a number of district-wide arts professional learning sessions in a variety of formats. MCLTs and other Fine & Performing Arts School educators are encouraged to attend these sessions whenever possible (in addition to the sessions listed above).
If you have questions about Fine & Performing Arts Schools professional learning, please contact cpsarts@cps.edu.