Arts Education Teacher Pipeline Support

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 325,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 45,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. The Department of Arts Education (DAE) integrates rigorous arts instruction into the district’s core educational infrastructure to drive student engagement, academic achievement, and postsecondary readiness across every Chicago Public School.

About the role

Reporting to the Director of Arts Access & Operations, the Arts Teacher Pipeline Support will serve as a strategic project coordinator supporting the launch and execution of Chicago Public Schools’ multi-year initiative to increase the number of certified arts educators aligned with the district’s Arts Education Plan 2.0: Cultivating Creativity (2025–2030). This role will work in close partnership with the Department of Arts Education, the CPS Talent Office, local and state organizations, and higher education institutions across Illinois and the U.S. to research, design, coordinate, and implement strategic pathways that recruit, certify, and retain high-quality arts educators in Chicago Public Schools in the areas of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and media arts.

This is a temporary, grant-funded role ideal for someone with experience in arts education, teacher certification policy, creative workforce development, or human capital strategy, and who is passionate about ensuring every CPS student has access to a high-quality arts education provided by a certified arts educator.

Responsibilities

• Map the current arts teacher preparation landscape in Illinois and surrounding states, including traditional, residency, and alternative certification programs
• Analyze educator workforce data to identify high-need artistic disciplines, school clusters, and teacher credential gaps in CPS
• Provide recommendations to inform CPS partnerships with universities, alternative certification providers, and arts education nonprofits
• Support the building and maintenance of programs and relationships with university partners, alternative certification providers, arts organizations, and workforce development agencies
• Collaborate with the Talent Office to align recruitment, residency, and hiring efforts
• Support the planning and expansion of new initiatives including but not limited to the Arts Teacher Residency programs, Teaching Artist Certification models, endorsement pathways for district teachers, Alternative Certification Programs, Pilot Endorsement, and CPS/University pipeline tracking systems
• Coordinate targeted recruitment campaigns for high-need arts disciplines (e.g., dance, theatre), including at national job boards, arts schools, and educator conferences
• Represent CPS at educator recruitment fairs, university expos, and arts convenings
• Develop outreach strategies (in partnership with CPS Communications and Talent) to raise awareness of new CPS arts teaching pathways, endorsements, and job opportunities
• Design and implement departmental tracking systems that monitor recruitment, certification, and hiring progress from each partner institution or pathway
• Generate monthly reports on open positions, candidate pools, and progress toward meeting the district’s pipeline goals
• Make actionable recommendations to refine strategy and scale high-performing models
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university required
• Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in K–12 arts education, teacher recruitment, higher education partnerships, and/or education policy
• Experience in teacher preparation, education leadership, or public policy preferred
• Project or strategic program design support experience preferred
• In-person participation in district recruitment events, partner meetings, and occasional site visits required
• Access to reliable transportation required

Skills

• Understanding of the arts education and/or teacher preparation landscape in Illinois and nationally
• Ability to analyze data to inform decisions and create actionable strategies
• Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication skills
• Comfort operating in fast-paced, cross-functional teams and balancing multiple priorities
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides); familiarity with Tableau, Smartsheet, PowerBI
• Strong attention to detail, ability to quickly shift priorities, and drive projects with multiple collaborators to completion

Conditions of Employment

• Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district (does not apply to temporary/part-time positions)
• All CPS employees must be residents of Illinois

Pay

This position will be compensated at a rate of $30–$34 per hour, depending on experience, not to exceed 1,200 hours per calendar year.