Grading the arts in LAUSD

Emerson Community Charter

1650 Selby Ave, Los Angeles

Enrollment: 536

Low-income students: 55%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 49%, white: 22%, Asian: 4%, black: 22%, other: 3%

Rank

28 of 249

secondary schools

B

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Film

Media

Emerson Community Charter scored 45 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 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

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

Yes

Grants

No

Donations

Yes
* Amount from budget reported as "$1,001 - $2,999"

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

Yes

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

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
Fairburn Avenue Elementary Elementary 1403 Fairburn Ave C
Westwood Charter Elementary Elementary 2050 Selby Ave A
Nora Sterry Elementary Elementary 1730 Corinth Ave C
Warner Avenue Elementary Elementary 615 Holmby Ave D
Overland Avenue Elementary Elementary 10650 Ashby Ave A
University Senior High Secondary 11800 Texas Ave B
Brockton Avenue Elementary Elementary 1309 Armacost Ave C
Daniel Webster Middle Secondary 11330 W Graham Pl C
Richland Avenue Elementary Elementary 11562 Richland Ave C
Clover Avenue Elementary Elementary 11020 Clover Ave C
Brentwood Science Elementary 740 Gretna Green Way B
Castle Heights Elementary Elementary 9755 Cattaraugus Ave C
Palms Middle Secondary 10860 Woodbine St B
Palms Elementary Elementary 3520 Motor Ave C
Community Magnet Charter Elementary Elementary 11301 Bellagio Rd C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Emerson Community Charter 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