Hamilton is a Fine and Performing Arts Magnet Cluster Program. We recognize the arts as part of the core curriculum, and dedicate time and space to the arts. While the arts are seen as an area of focus unto themselves, arts integration plays a key role in the FPAMCP. With the assistance of our Magnet Cluster Lead Teachers Esther Pullman and Daniel Burke, classroom teachers integrate the arts into other core subject areas. Our goal is to develop a school-wide curriculum based in the arts that encourages and supports all students in attaining academic and artistic excellence.

Hamilton has formed arts partnerships with various arts/cultural organizations in the Chicago area in order to continue with the implementation of our arts-integrated school-wide curriculum. Our fine arts goals are accomplished through professional development, joint curricular planning and implementation, in-class residencies, enrichment activities, and other arts integration strategies developed through school/arts partner collaborations

As a Fine Arts Magnet Cluster School, we offer students exceptional opportunities to enrich their academic educational experience through performing and visual arts. The arts experiences offered capture the sense of imagination in the mind and the heart of every student at Hamilton. By incorporating this learning into the core of our school, we strengthen our students’ academic achievements, increase their confidence, social interaction, respect for one another, and their abilities to work in a team to complete a goal. Everyday, the arts bring much needed depth and dimension into our curriculum.

 Some current students told us that arts programs at Hamilton have given them: “the confidence to get up in front of people… to dance and to teach”, “the chance to experience different dances, cultures and history”, and an opportunity to “help us to work with different people, make new friends, achieve more in life, and help us shape our future”.