The Department of Education will hire 120 new arts teachers to work in under-served middle and high schools with the help of an additional $23 million earmarked for arts education in the 2014-2015 school year budget, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at a press conference at the Bronx Museum of the Arts on July 1.

Thousands of schoolchildren will have new classes and activities in music, dance, visual arts and theater, the mayor said. The funds will also be used to improve arts facilities, foster partnerships with the city’s museums and other cultural institutions, and upgrade and enhance school arts facilities.

“We want every child to feel the spark that comes from learning something they are passionate about,” said de Blasio, who was joined by Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “The investments we are making here won’t just help our students explore music, dance and the arts. They will help these children grow in a way that helps them succeed in school and in life.”

The mayor also allocated $3.1 million for an Arts Teacher Choice Fund, which will provide $1,000 for each full-time certified arts teacher to be used to buy studio materials, supplies and equipment.

Fariña, who names arts education a priority when she was appointed chancellor, has already created two pilot programs to bring the arts back to schools: a Friday lunchtime series of concerts featuring student musicians and an after-school program for middle school students to visit local cultural institutions.

“Expanding access to an arts education will help inspire students, build confidence and deepen their critical thinking skills,” the chancellor said.

In April, Stringer issued a report, “State of the Arts," that found arts education was underfunded and inequitable, with schools in the South Bronx and central Brooklyn offering no arts programs. Stringer called the $23 million “an important down payment” in the effort to ensure every student has access to a meaningful arts education.