Today marks the beginning of an important new era in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), one in which the arts are fully recognized as central to the education of the city’s children . Our work will be guided by a new policy, the Chicago Public Schools Arts Education Plan, designed to bring the arts to every child, in every grade, in every school . This new plan is grounded in research that reveals the importance of arts education, and provides data that clearly establishes the starting point—the current state of the arts in CPS . The first-ever CPS Arts Education Plan will provide specific recommendations to improve, expand, and strategically coordinate arts education across the District . As this work is carried out, Chicago will establish itself as a national leader in the work of strengthening arts education—and what city could be a more appropriate home for this initiative than Chicago, with its vibrant arts community and one of the deepest and richest pools of cultural assets and resources in the nation? The CPS Arts Education Plan is the culminating achievement brought about through dedicated and inspired work over the past two decades by countless civic and neighborhood leaders, along with numerous cultural institutions and community organizations . All have been united by their unwavering commitment to providing Chicago’s children with a strong public education

The arts are a vital element of a 21st century education . Research conducted over the past decade shows that exposure to an education in the arts significantly decreases dropout rates, improves the likeli - hood of entering college, increases civic engagement, and ultimately promotes financial success throughout a person’s life-time . The role of the arts in securing these results lies largely in the way it stimu - lates innovation, creativity, and critical thinking, all essential skills in our world today . In order to expand and improve arts education for CPS students, we must first recognize the starting point . Our existing resources show much promise . In the 2012-2013 school year, there were more than 1,000 dedicated arts teachers providing leadership in CPS schools .