Grading the arts in LAUSD

Cowan Avenue Elementary

7615 Cowan Ave, Los Angeles

Enrollment: 270

Low-income students: 51%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 8%, white: 6%, Asian: 0%, black: 81%, other: 5%

Rank

45 of 507

elementary schools

B

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Cowan Avenue Elementary scored 36 out of 83 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The elementary school offers two of five standard arts classes tracked by the district and provides extra programs, according to responses by administrators before the 2015-16 academic year. The school's survey response earned a B grade in a Times analysis of the results. Districtwide, 94 schools (12.4%) 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*

 No

Fundraising by school or parent groups

 Yes

Grants

 No

Donations

 No

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

 Yes

Community arts partner

 Yes

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
Orville Wright Engineering and Design Magnet Secondary 6550 W 80th St C
Kentwood Elementary Elementary 8401 Emerson Ave B
Playa del Rey Elementary Elementary 12221 Juniette St C
Westport Heights Elementary Elementary 6011 W 79th St C
Marina del Rey Middle Secondary 12500 Braddock Dr C
Loyola Village Elementary Elementary 8821 Villanova Av B
Braddock Drive Elementary Elementary 4711 Inglewood Blvd C
Stoner Avenue Elementary Elementary 11735 Braddock Dr C
Open Charter Magnet Elementary 5540 W 77th St C
The Incubator Secondary 7400 W Manchester Bldg K C
WESM Health/Sports Medicine Secondary 7400 W Manchester Ave C
Short Avenue Elementary Elementary 12814 Maxella Ave C
Paseo del Rey Fundamental Elementary 7751 Paseo Del Rey C
Grand View Boulevard Elementary Elementary 3951 Grand View Blvd B
James J. McBride Special Education Center Secondary 3960 Centinela Av D

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Cowan Avenue 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