Category: Announcements

ChiArts Moves Toward a Trauma-Informed Arts Education Practice

by ChiArts Communications

ChiArts is committed to educating, embracing, and caring for every scholar-artist with as much knowledge and compassion as we can provide. We are proud to announce that ChiArts is becoming a trauma-informed school.

This August, we’ve hosted staff development days and formally introduced practices to cultivate a working model for the whole school. ChiArts aims to be an example for arts organizations all over the nation, where compassion is at the forefront of arts education. 

Click below to read our feature on Make It Better

Welcome Letter from Principal Wang

by ChiArts Communications

Dear ChiArts Students and Family,

Welcome to school year 2017-18! As we enter our ninth year as an organization, I would to like celebrate just a couple of our achievements. For the third year in a row, we have been recognized as a top high school by US News and World Report. This past year, our first scholar-artists, the Class of 2013, became our first college graduates. I’m excited at what we have achieved and look forward to what our future holds. Starting off this year, there are a few things for families to note:

  • PowerSchool has replaced TeacherEase as our Parent/Student Portal. Information on how to access chiarts.powerschool.com can be found in our electronic newsletters and under the ‘Parent Resources’ tab.
  • New Bell Schedule adopted allowing for a common lunch periods. We piloted this schedule last year with great success. Both students and teachers appreciated the opportunity to break up our long school day, additional time to meet with students outside a traditional class setting, and the ability to run student organizations/activities.
  • Arts Exploration Days scheduled on November 21 and April 19. For the first time in the history of ChiArts, we will be running a modified schedule to allow students to explore art forms in other conservatories. More details to come soon.
  • Back to School Night is scheduled for Thursday, August 31st from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This event highlights our academic program and is a great opportunity to meet teachers, get a peek of what our courses offer, and simply to put faces to names. Our fantastic Parent Support Organization (PS0) will also be on hand to share ways to get involved.

As an organization, we at ChiArts are grateful for the diversity that each and every student brings to our school. We recognize that while our world is often fraught with ignorance, violence, and racism, it is our duty to foster a safe, diverse and civically engaged school community. As we reflect on these core beliefs and plan for the future, we have rededicated our practice to compassion and understanding.

Thank you for believing in ChiArts.

Sincerely,

Michael Wang, Principal

ChiArts to Celebrate 6th Annual Kerfuffle! Benefit

by ChiArts Admin

ChiArts to Celebrate 6th Annual Kerfuffle! Benefit
And release a children’s book to celebrate the “past, present, and future” of ChiArts


Chicago, IL, March 7, 2017 – The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts), along with the school’s Board of Directors and event co-chairs John Hart, Pam Strobel, and Neal Zucker, will host its 6th annual Kerfuffle! benefit from 6-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, 2017 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark.

About Kerfuffle!
Kerfuffle!, ChiArts’ spring gala and presentation, welcomes supporters, arts partners, and civic leaders. The evening will include a welcome cocktail reception, student performance “exhibits,” a short performance in the theater, dinner buffet by Jewell Catering, and entertainment throughout the museum’s second floor. Guests will be able to interact with students representing each of ChiArts’ five arts conservatories: Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. The Chicago History Museum’s spacious ballroom will be furnished elegantly by Kehoe Designs and guests will enjoy wine generously provided by Hart Davis Hart Wine Company. Funds raised at Kerfuffle! are integral to the operations of ChiArts’ tuition-free arts programs, which serve 600 students each year.

Illustration by Alan Cortes (Class of 2016)

“This year’s Kerfuffle! will celebrate the past, present, and future of ChiArts,” says Executive and Artistic Director José Ochoa. “With the recent launch of ChiArts’ first summer camp and the school’s first class of freshmen scheduled to graduate from four-year universities this spring, the event will celebrate the arc of development ChiArts offers to young, talented, and diverse artists from all of Chicago’s fifty wards.”

This year’s Kerfuffle! will feature the release of an original children’s book sponsored by State Farm Insurance. Anita’s Drum tells the story of diverse, creative children in Chicago seeking a place to learn and practice their art. ChiArts has commissioned Visual Arts alumnus Alan Cortes and current Creative Writing major Ysobel Gallo to provide illustrations and narrative for the book, which will be featured in a presentation during the event.

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About ChiArts
ChiArts is Chicago’s first and only public high school for the arts, providing each student with a pre-professional arts training program paired with a high-quality college-preparatory curriculum. Ranked in the top 6% of high schools by US News and World Report and listed as a 1+ school by the CPS School Quality Rating Policy (SQRP), ChiArts is a citywide institution that aims to reflect the racial, socio-economic, geographic, and artistic diversity of Chicago. For more information, please visit www.chiarts.org.

Mary Elliott of National Museum of African American History and Culture visits ChiArts

by ChiArts Admin

On Tuesday, February 28, ChiArts students gathered as a whole school to welcome Mary Elliott, Co-Curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum, which opened in September, aims to tell American history through an African American lens. Over one million people have already visited and there is currently a months-long waiting list for passes. Mary’s visit was a special behind-the-scenes look into the museum’s exhibits, highlighting the human context of African American history throughout the museum’s five floors.

ChiArts is grateful to BMO Harris Bank for bringing this special presentation to our students, and to Mary Elliott and the National Museum of African American History and Culture for an inspiring and transformative morning to close out Black History Month.