Grading the arts in LAUSD

Robert E. Peary Middle

1415 W Gardena Blvd, Gardena

Enrollment: 1,390

Low-income students: 74%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 63%, white: 2%, Asian: 3%, black: 27%, other: 5%

Rank

96 of 249

secondary schools

C

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Film

Media

Robert E. Peary Middle scored 32 out of 80 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The secondary school offers one 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 "$1 - $500"

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

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
Denker Avenue Elementary Elementary 1620 W 162nd St C
One Hundred Fifty-Third Street Elementary 1605 W 153rd St C
Gardena Elementary Elementary 647 W Gardena Blv C
One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street Elementary Elementary 2100 W 156th St C
Amestoy Elementary Elementary 1048 W 149th St C
Gardena Senior High Secondary 1301 W 182nd St C
Chapman Elementary Elementary 1947 Marine Ave C
One Hundred Eighty-Sixth Street Elementary Elementary 1581 W 186th St A
Ambler Avenue Elementary Elementary 319 E Sherman Dr C
One Hundred Thirty-Fifth Street Elementary Elementary 801 W 135th St C
Purche Avenue Elementary Elementary 13210 Purche Ave C
Benjamin Banneker Special Education Center Secondary 14024 S San Pedro D
Avalon Gardens Elementary Elementary 13940 S San Pedro C
Towne Avenue Elementary Elementary 18924 Towne Ave C
West Athens Elementary Elementary 1110 W 119th St C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Robert E. Peary 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