Grading the arts in LAUSD

Carlos Santana Arts Academy

9301 N Columbus Ave, North Hills

Enrollment: 550

Low-income students: 95%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 85%, white: 7%, Asian: 2%, black: 4%, other: 2%

Rank

1 of 507

elementary schools

A

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Carlos Santana Arts Academy scored 58 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 provides extra programs, according to responses by administrators before the 2015-16 academic year. The school's survey response earned an A grade in a Times analysis of the results. Districtwide, 35 schools (4.6%) 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

 Yes

Donations

 Yes
* 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

 Yes

Donations

 Yes

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

 Yes

Parent or community volunteer

 Yes

Accomplished artist

 No

How did nearby schools score?

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

Name Type Address Grade
Francisco Sepulveda Middle Secondary 15330 Plummer St C
Plummer Elementary Elementary 9340 Noble Ave C
Lassen Elementary Elementary 15017 Superior St D
Primary Academy for Success Elementary 9075 Willis Ave D
Rosa Parks Learning Center Elementary 8855 Noble Ave B
Alta California Elementary Elementary 14859 W Rayen St C
Langdon Avenue Elementary Elementary 8817 Langdon Ave C
James Monroe High Secondary 9229 Haskell Ave C
Albert Einstein Continuation Secondary 15938 Tupper St D
Gledhill Street Elementary Elementary 16030 Gledhill St C
Panorama City Elementary Elementary 8600 Kester Ave C
Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet Elementary 15848 Stare St C
Liggett Street Elementary Elementary 9373 Moonbeam Ave C
Noble Avenue Elementary Elementary 8329 Noble Ave C
Vista Middle Secondary 15060 Roscoe Blvd C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Carlos Santana Arts Academy 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