Grading the arts in LAUSD

Cienega Elementary

2611 S Orange Dr, Los Angeles

Enrollment: 660

Low-income students: 79%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 83%, white: 2%, Asian: 0%, black: 14%, other: 1%

Rank

127 of 507

elementary schools

C

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Cienega Elementary scored 29 out of 83 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The elementary school offers four of five standard arts classes tracked by the district and does not provide extra programs, according to responses by administrators before the 2015-16 academic year. The school's survey response earned a C grade in a Times analysis of the results. Districtwide, 535 schools (70.8%) received the same grade.

How much is taught?

Administrators answered multiple-choice questions about arts instruction, training and equipment provided by the school.

Students and class availability

Percentage of students receiving arts instruction: The estimated percentage of students who get arts instruction

Weeks of arts instruction: The number of weeks that each student receives arts instruction

Instructional time per week: The estimated amount of time spent on arts education per week

Number of arts courses: The number of arts programs offered

Percentage of students receiving arts instruction

Weeks of arts instruction

Instructional time per week

Number of arts courses

Teachers and facilities

Arts instructors: For elementary schools, this is the number of days per week that a district-employed arts teacher provides instruction. For secondary schools, this is the number of full-time arts teachers on staff.

Training: Arts-specific training opportunites offered to teachers

Equipment and facilities: Quality of equipment and facilities available at each school to support the arts

Arts instructors

Training

Equipment and facilities

Who pays and who else teaches?

Administrators answered yes-or-no questions about sources of funding and instruction for arts education.

Funds for standard classes

Sources of funding for arts resources and supplies (e.g. paintbrushes, instruments) used for instruction during the regular school day

School budget*

Yes

Fundraising by school or parent groups

No

Grants

No

Donations

No
* Amount from budget reported as "more than $1,000"

Funds for extra instruction

Sources of funding for arts programs that are not provided as part of the regular school day

School budget

No

Fundraising by school or parent groups

No

Grants

No

Donations

No

Teachers of extra classes

Who provides the extra arts instruction at this school

A district teacher not dedicated to teaching the arts

No

Community arts partner

No

Parent or community volunteer

No

Accomplished artist

No

How did nearby schools score?

Compare the grades earned by L.A. Unified schools in surrounding neighborhoods.

Name Type Address Grade
Marvin Elementary Elementary 2411 Marvin Ave C
Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High Secondary 3537 Farmdale Ave B
Virginia Road Elementary Elementary 2925 Virginia Rd C
Baldwin Hills Elementary Elementary 5421 Rodeo Rd B
Saturn Street Elementary Elementary 5360 Saturn St C
Coliseum Street Elementary Elementary 4400 Coliseum St D
Alta Loma Elementary Elementary 1745 Vineyard Ave C
Hillcrest Drive Elementary Elementary 4041 Hillcrest Dr C
Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies Secondary 5931 W 18th St B
Crescent Heights Boulevard Elementary Elementary 1661 S Crescent Hts Blvd C
Marlton Elementary 4000 Santo Tomas Dr C
Johnnie Cochran, Jr., Middle Secondary 4066 W 17th St D
Sixth Avenue Elementary Elementary 3109 Sixth Ave D
Arlington Heights Elementary Elementary 1717 Seventh Ave D
Shenandoah Street Elementary Elementary 2450 Shenandoah St C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Cienega Elementary in the comments or on social media using #gradeyourschool.

Footnote: Low-income percentage tallied using the total number of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch. Some errors in survey responses exist; read more about how these data were assembled.

Sources: Los Angeles Unified School District, California Department of Education, Times analysis

Credits: Ryan Menezes, Lily Mihalik, Zahira Torres, Ben Welsh

Icons: The Noun Project, Artworkbean, Raz Cohen, Benjamin Bours, Paul Stevens, Creative Stall, BraveBros., Jakub Caja, Alexander Cherkinsky, Austin Condiff, Yu Luck