Arts Essentials

Arts Essentials

The Arts Essentials program provides $1,000 annually to all CPS schools that have fully completed the annual Creative Schools Survey and have an active Arts Liaison. Schools do not need to apply for Arts Essentials funding. Funds must be used for the purchase of materials, supplies, and equipment for visual art, music, dance, theatre, and media arts programming or instruction during the school day.

Updated SY23-24 Arts Essentials Spending Deadlines and Guidelines

District-Managed CPS Schools

Arts Essentials funds will be transferred into schools budgets in Fall 2024. Please see the Purchasing Guide below for more information.

CPS Purchasing Guide

Purchase Orders (POs) utilizing Arts Essentials funds must be opened by February 28th, 2025. Unspent or unencumbered funds will be swept from district-managed schools’ budgets after February 28th, 2025.

Charter, Contract, and Options Schools

Reimbursement for Arts Essentials funds will be made available to schools in Fall 2024. Funds are kept within the Department of Arts Education budget; designated charter school officers may receipt against these funds through Epicenter* until the spending deadline.

Charter, Options, and Contract school officers must submit for reimbursement via Epicenter on or before February 28th, 2025.

Non-CPS Purchasing Guide

*Please contact your network operations office to determine the appropriate officer who will submit reimbursements in Epicenter on behalf of your school. Receipts must be submitted all at once. Schools will be reimbursed for a maximum of $1,000. Reimbursements are processed monthly by the Department of Arts Education.

Other Arts Essentials Resources

Arts Essentials Purchasing Process At-A-Glance (NOTE: for CPS district-managed schools only): A quick walkthrough of the Arts Essentials purchasing process for clerks, administrators, and Arts Liaisons.

Full CPS Vendor List: A list of all active vendors that schools may purchase from. PLEASE NOTE: This list is subject to change, as vendors are de-activated on a rolling basis due to inactivity. Please ask your school clerk to find the most up-to-date vendors via Oracle.

Arts Essentials Spending Planner (Word | Excel)
Arts Liaisons, administrators, and other arts teachers can use this tool to collaboratively plan how to spend Arts Essentials grant money each year.

Further Information about Arts Essentials

Schools do not need to apply for Arts Essentials. In order to be eligible for Arts Essentials, a school must:

Have an active Arts Liaison who has been nominated by the principal. Arts Liaisons serve as the on-site arts champions for their school communities. They must be (re)nominated at the start of every school year. To renominate a Liaison or nominate a new Liaison, principals should complete this Nomination form.
Have an active Arts Liaison complete the yearly Creative Schools Survey every school year. The Creative Schools Survey collects arts data from each school to determine its Creative Schools Certification rating—the level at which the school meets the goals and priorities outlined in the CPS Arts Education Plan. Learn more about the Creative School Certification ratings.

Once an Arts Liaison completes the Survey, Arts Essentials funding is made accessible to the school, and purchasing can begin.

Arts Essentials funding can only be spent on materials, supplies, and equipment for visual art, music, dance, theatre, and media arts programming or instruction during the school day. The principal, Arts Liaison, and other arts staff should work together to identify the area(s) of greatest need and spend accordingly.

For a list of specific purchases that can and cannot be made, along with a walkthrough of the purchasing process, please download the appropriate Arts Essentials Purchasing Guide (above).

Updated SY23-24 Arts Essentials Spending Deadlines and Guidelines

District-Managed CPS Schools

Charter, Contract, and Options Schools

Other Arts Essentials Resources

Further Information about Arts Essentials

CPS Department of Arts Education