In Tune With Impact

Creating Momentum: How LAEF Has Transformed School Arts Communities

The majority of LAEF grants support partnerships between arts organizations and schools, bringing professional teaching artists into classrooms to co-create rich, standards-aligned instruction with CPS educators. Residencies are not one-off experiences. Residencies are responsive, engaging students in hands-on creative learning while building teacher capacity through mentorship, co-teaching, and arts integration strategies. Often introducing new disciplines, these are embedded, strategic investments in teaching artists, classroom educators, supplies, and space – igniting long-term transformation in some of the city’s most under-resourced schools.

With support from the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund, schools are making significant strides in expanding access to arts education. Forty-one arts organizations have partnered with LAEF grantee schools – bringing a broad spectrum of artistic disciplines and perspectives into classrooms. Dance emerged as the most requested artistic discipline in 2024-25 Creative Schools Fund Partnership applications, making up 28% of all proposals. Only 13% of CPS elementary schools and 21% of high schools offered dance coursework in 2023-24.

Between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years, the number of dance courses offered in LAEF-supported schools more than tripled – from 106 to 329 courses. During that same period, the number of schools offering dance coursework grew by 100%, rising from 11 to 22 schools. This remarkable growth is about more than numbers – it signals a cultural shift within schools, where vibrant, student-driven dance programs are taking root and flourishing.

Between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years, 31 additional arts instructors were hired in LAEF-supported schools, significantly improving arts staffing across the district. The average student-to-arts instructor ratio dropped from 393 to 296, surpassing the Creative Schools Certification (CSC) benchmark of 350 students or fewer per instructor.

In 2023-24, for 12% of these schools, LAEF was the only funder supporting their arts partnerships – showing how important LAEF is in making arts programs possible.

Across Chicago, LAEF partnerships have played a transformative role in strengthening school communities. By launching high-quality arts programs – sometimes for the first time – these investments have created ripple effects that last well beyond the life of a single residency. They lay the groundwork for long-term cultural shifts, sustainable arts programming, and stronger student outcomes.

Creativity, Commitment, and Community: What's Been Built and What's Ahead

Thanks to the generous $2.2 million investment over five years from Lollapalooza – channeled through the Creative Schools Fund and stewarded by Ingenuity – this initiative is about far more than funding projects. It's about championing the arts as an essential part of every Chicago Public Schools student's education.

Now marking four years of meaningful impact, the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund and Ingenuity celebrate the educators, teaching artists, arts organizations, and school leaders whose passion and partnership have brought this work to life. With one exciting year still ahead, LAEF is expanding its reach and deepening its lasting legacy.

Despite this progress, critical work remains. In May 2025, CPS launched a new 2025-2030 Arts Education Plan that calls on the entire sector to collaborate in expanding both access and quality across all schools. The plan highlights the Creative Schools Fund as a key driver of equity.

Data from the 2023-24 State of the Arts – which informed the new plan – shows that 64,000 CPS students still lack access to high-quality arts education, with 34 schools without arts partnerships and 65 schools without arts teachers. Excelling schools are those that meet the goals and priorities outlined, and only 39% of all 649 CPS schools were rated as Excelling in 2023-24. These gaps underscore the urgent need for continued investment and advocacy.

In a district as large as dynamic as CPS, no single initiative can close the equity gap in arts education. Together though, this powerful partnership between Lollapalooza and Ingenuity demonstrates what's possible when creativity, commitment, and community unite to build a vibrant and equitable future for arts education in Chicago.

While the milestones so far are significant, the road ahead is equally important. With data-driven strategies, strong community partnerships, and a shared belief in the transformative power of the arts, the Creative Schools Fund is helping to build a future where every CPS student in every school has access to arts that inspire, empower, and uplift. Together, we can ensure that creativity is a right, not a privilege, for all students in Chicago.