Grading the arts in LAUSD

David Wark Griffith Middle

4765 E Fourth St, Los Angeles

Enrollment: 1,406

Low-income students: 92%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 98%, white: 1%, Asian: 0%, black: 0%, other: 1%

Rank

105 of 249

secondary schools

C

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Film

Media

David Wark Griffith Middle scored 31 out of 80 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The secondary school offers three of seven 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 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

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

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 $3,000"

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

 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

 No

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
Morris K. Hamasaki Elementary Elementary 4865 E First St C
James A. Garfield Senior High Secondary 5101 E Sixth St C
Fourth Street Elementary Elementary 420 S Amalia Ave C
Humphreys Avenue Elementary Elementary 500 S Humphreys Ave C
Alphonso B. Perez Special Education Center Secondary 4540 Michigan Ave D
Brooklyn Avenue Elementary Elementary 4620 Cesar Chavez Ave C
Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy School of Technology, Business and Education Secondary 319 N Humphreys Ave C
Robert Hill Lane Elementary Elementary 1500 Cesar Chavez Ave C
Marianna Avenue Elementary Elementary 4215 E Gleason St C
Ford Boulevard Elementary Elementary 1112 S Ford Blvd D
Social Justice Leadership Academy at Esteban E. Torres High No. 5 Secondary 4211 Dozier St C
East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban E. Torres High No. 2 Secondary 4211 Dozier St C
Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology at Esteban E. Torres High No. 4 Secondary 4211 Dozier St B
East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet Secondary 4211 Dozier St A
Belvedere Middle Secondary 312 N Record Ave C

Reader comments

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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