Grading the arts in LAUSD

Richard Henry Dana Middle

1501 S Cabrillo Ave, San Pedro

Enrollment: 1,533

Low-income students: 67%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 73%, white: 14%, Asian: 2%, black: 7%, other: 4%

Rank

25 of 249

secondary schools

B

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Film

Media

Richard Henry Dana Middle scored 46 out of 80 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The secondary school offers two 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

 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

 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

 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
San Pedro Senior High Secondary 1001 W 15th St C
Leland Street Elementary Elementary 2120 S Leland St C
Cabrillo Avenue Elementary Elementary 732 S Cabrillo Av C
Fifteenth Street Elementary Elementary 1527 S Mesa St C
Seventh Street Elementary Elementary 1570 W Seventh St B
Ernest P. Willenberg Special Education Center Secondary 308 Weymouth Ave D
Bandini Street Elementary Elementary 425 N Bandini St C
Point Fermin Elementary Elementary 3333 Kerckhoff Ave C
White Point Elementary Elementary 1410 Silvius Ave C
Barton Hill Elementary Elementary 423 N Pacific Ave B
Angel's Gate (Continuation) Secondary 3607 S Gaffey C
South Shores/CSUDH Visual and Performing Arts Elementary 2060 W 35th St S B
Crestwood Street Elementary Elementary 1946 W Crestwood St C
Park Western Place Elementary Elementary 1214 Park Western B
Taper Avenue Elementary Elementary 1824 Taper Ave S B

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Richard Henry Dana Middle 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