Teaching artists and parents urge CPS to preserve Shy Arts conservatory during charter-to-district transition

Teachers, parents and teaching artists from the Chicago High School for the Arts urged the Chicago Board of Education April 8 to preserve the school’s conservatory model as it transitions from charter governance to CPS oversight.

David Blick, a theatre teacher who said he has prepared students for professional careers for 16 years, warned that eliminating the conservatory’s teaching-artist model would erase the school’s professional pathway. "If the conservatory is dismantled, this scaffold comes crashing down," Blick said, characterizing the model as the reason students access arts careers.

Multiple staff described being asked to re-interview for their jobs during the transition and said they have not been given clear pathways to retain positions. Eliza (Eliza/Alisa) Fernand and other part-time teaching artists said their schedules and multi-hour classes are central to instruction and that ad hoc staffing changes would undermine program quality. Several speakers asked CPS to establish a designated account or vehicle to accept donated funds and keep those donations accessible to the school during the transition.

Superintendent Dr. Meline King and board members publicly reiterated a commitment to preserving Shy Arts’ uniqueness and to ensuring stability for incoming students, but did not announce specific permanent guarantees for teaching-artist employment or the requested donor-holding mechanism during this meeting.

Why it matters: The conservatory model at Shy Arts is staffed significantly by part-time, practicing artists who deliver longer-form studio classes that advocates say cannot be replicated in standard schedules. Community members warned that removing those teaching artists would meaningfully change the program.

What’s next: CPS and board staff said work remains to ensure the school’s programmatic elements and staffing models are preserved where possible. Speakers asked the board to adopt concrete measures before moving forward with any final transition steps.

Provenance: Public comments from Shy Arts teachers and parents are recorded beginning at SEG 1078 and continuing through SEG 1394.