Grading the arts in LAUSD

Micheltorena Street Elementary

1511 Micheltorena, Los Angeles

Enrollment: 340

Low-income students: 45%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 67%, white: 22%, Asian: 4%, black: 4%, other: 4%

Rank

60 of 507

elementary schools

B

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Micheltorena Street Elementary scored 34 out of 83 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The elementary school offers five 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

 No

Grants

 No

Donations

 Yes

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

 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

 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
Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Magnet Secondary 4201 Fountain Ave C
Mayberry Street Elementary Elementary 2414 Mayberry St C
Lockwood Avenue Elementary Elementary 4345 Lockwood Ave C
Lexington Avenue Primary Center Elementary 4564 W Lexington Ave C
Dayton Heights Elementary Elementary 607 N Westmorelan C
Clifford Street Elementary Elementary 2150 Duane St D
Logan Street Elementary Elementary 1711 W Montana St D
Rosemont Avenue Elementary Elementary 421 N Rosemont Av B
Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Science Magnet Elementary Elementary 3600 W Council St C
Franklin Avenue Elementary Elementary 1910 N Commonwealth Ave A
Virgil Middle Secondary 152 N Vermont Ave C
Los Feliz Elementary Elementary 1740 N New Hampshire Ave C
John Marshall Senior High Secondary 3939 Tracy St B
Ramona Elementary Elementary 1133 N Mariposa Ave C
Lake Street Primary Elementary 135 N Lake St C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Micheltorena Street 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