Arts Content Specialist (Music)

Chicago Public Schools; Illinois; On-site; USD 90,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Chicago Public Schools is seeking an Arts Content Specialist to design, deliver, and assess PreK-12 arts curricula and professional learning. You will work with arts educators, ILTs, and partners to implement equitable instructional support and to scale a coherent vision for CPS arts education.

The role requires a strong background in planning, facilitating, and evaluating professional learning. The position is full-time, in person, and remunerated on a salary basis with CPS benefits.

Qualifications

• Education requirements include a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field and an ISBE teaching certificate.
• Master’s degree is preferred; endorsements in LBSI/ESL/Bilingual are a plus.
• Extensive experience in K-12 education and professional learning design required.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, facilitate, and evaluate PreK-12 arts curricula and professional learning.
• Collaborate with ILTs, arts educators, and partners to ensure equitable instructional support.
• Lead and coach Arts Teacher Leaders to implement peer‑led professional learning.
• Coordinate annual review of professional learning offerings and maintain online hub content.
• Communicate centralized learning opportunities to stakeholders via multiple channels.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Education/related field

Master’s degree preferred

ISBE teaching certificate

LBSI/ESL/Bilingual endorsement preferred

Tools

Google Suite

Job description

Posting Date

Oct 1, 2026, 2:25:23 PM

Primary Location

CPS Non-Union Job Grade : SG1

Estimated Annual Salary Range

90,000.00 - 106,000.00

Position Type : Non-Union Position

Overtime Status

Exempt

Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.

JOB DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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. Aligned with our transformed philosophy, we are steadfastly focused on ensuring that the District provides resources equitably to support every student, every school, and every community. Six core values guide the work we do every day for our students – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning. Each role in the district supports our vision that every student deserves a rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experience.

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. The Goal of the DAE is to establish the arts as a universal instructional lever that empowers every CPS student to become a critical thinker, an inventive problem-solver, and a high-performing citizen in a global economy.

Reporting to the Manager, Professional Learning, the Arts Content Specialist supports the district-wide implementation of the instructional, curriculum, and professional learning strategies laid out in the Arts Education Plan 2.0: Cultivating Creativity. This position is responsible for the hands-on design, development, facilitation and implementation of comprehensive PreK-12 arts curricula, professional learning for all stakeholders, and teacher leadership frameworks with a focus on the Illinois Arts Learning Standards, and best practices in arts teaching and learning. In addition to this broad focus based on arts instructional pedagogy, the role works directly with arts educators, school-based Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs), and arts partners to design, deliver, monitor, and implement high-quality, equitable instructional support across Chicago Public Schools. The Arts Content Specialist will collaborate closely with other Content and Program Specialists to ensure a coherent vision for PreK-12 Arts teaching and learning is scaled throughout CPS. This is a full-time, in-person exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

The Arts Content Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Create, deliver and facilitate live, asynchronous, and on-demand professional learning experiences for arts educators, teaching artists, general education teachers, school leaders, art partners, and other stakeholders as needed to implement high-quality curriculum, instruction, and assessments, aligned with district best practices and priorities.
• Provide feedback and act as a regular consultant to inform the development of comprehensive, standards-aligned, and culturally responsive PreK-12 arts curriculum, vertically aligned learning progressions, and assessment tools. Design the arts instructional vision and materials for curriculum development and implementation aligned with district best practices and priorities.
• Coordinate, design, implement and monitor the annual review of existing professional learning offerings citywide to identify gaps and ensure district-led and partner-led experiences are coherent and high-quality.
• Build, organize, and maintain content within a centralized, searchable online hub, ensuring synchronous and asynchronous learning modules by CPS and other collaborators are readily accessible to all district stakeholders.
• Draft and distribute centralized communications, online engagement and support through multiple modalities including artlook® to ensure all arts educators and citywide art partners understand available professional learning opportunities, how to access them.
• Facilitate and support cohorts of Arts Teacher Leaders, coaching them to design and execute peer‑led professional learning opportunities across the sector. Build capacity among Teacher Leaders, school teams, and local administrators to support content‑specific arts learning, peer reflection, and Instructional Leadership Teams
• Develop materials and provide direct guidance to teachers and school administrators on utilizing the Arts Addendum to the Framework for Teaching to authentically evaluate arts practices. Provide targeted content guidance and alignment for network teams, school leaders, and central office stakeholders to support network professional learning plans and district‑wide arts priorities
• Provide hands‑on operational, content, and logistical design, facilitation and support for professional learning and other departmental events, leveraging disciplinary expertise and knowledge. Collaborate with other CPS departments to ensure cross‑disciplinary alignment.
• Other duties as assigned
  

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Arts Content Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited college or university, required

Master’s degree in a relevant field of study, preferred

Valid teaching certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with appropriate grade level and content level endorsement is required

LBSI, ESL, or Bilingual Endorsement, preferred

Experience Required:

Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in education, including the following, is required:

Minimum of five (5) years of classroom teaching experience, including Arts instruction. Three (3) years of relevant teaching experience will be considered in combination with two (2) years of experience in a comparable content specialist‑level role.

Minimum of three (3) years of teacher leadership experience, such as leading school teams in the development of curriculum and assessments, analyzing student performance data, etc.

Minimum of three (3) years working with adult learners, including creating, organizing, and facilitating professional learning experiences to meet the needs of participants.

Other Requirements:

Occasional evening and weekends

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Expertise in planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating professional learning

Deep knowledge of Arts teaching and learning instructional best practices

Exceptional organizational skills; ability to effectively manage several work streams simultaneously

Capable of building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating and communicating across a diverse range of audiences, including network teams, principals, teachers, and support staff

Commitment to CPS Instructional Core Vision

Ability to build consensus and leverage expertise with educators across the district

Excellent technology skills (Google Suite)

Health & Wellness: Your Care, Your Choice

CPS is committed to providing comprehensive health coverage to our employees and their eligible dependents. You'll have access to a variety of choices to best fit your needs:

Medical Plan Options

Pharmacy

Vision

Behavioral Health & EAP

Employee Wellness Program

Financial Security: Planning for Today and Tomorrow

We understand the importance of financial stability, which is why CPS offers strong retirement and savings options:

Basic Life Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Pension Plans

Supplemental Retirement Plans (403(b) and 457(b))

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Spot Pet Insurance

Work-Life Balance: Supporting Your Personal and Professional Life

CPS values the well‑being of its employees and offers competitive paid time off policies:

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - 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. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part‑time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.

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