Grading the arts in LAUSD

Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences

10445 Balboa Blvd, Granada Hills

Enrollment: 1,277

Low-income students: 57%

Race/Ethnicity: Latino: 61%, white: 20%, Asian: 4%, black: 6%, other: 10%

Rank

4 of 249

secondary schools

A

What arts classes are offered?

Theater

Visual

Dance

Music

Vocal

Film

Media

Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences scored 59 out of 80 points on a first-of-its-kind survey of arts education at L.A. Unified. The secondary school offers seven 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 an A grade in a Times analysis of the results. Districtwide, 35 schools (4.6%) 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

 Yes

Donations

 Yes
* 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

 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

 Yes

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
Patrick Henry Middle Secondary 17340 San Jose St C
Granada Community Charter Elementary 17170 Tribune St C
Mayall Street Elementary Elementary 16701 Mayall St C
Andasol Avenue Elementary Elementary 10126 Encino Ave B
Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary Elementary 17020 Labrador St C
Tulsa Street Elementary Elementary 10900 Hayvenhurst Ave B
Jane Addams Continuation Secondary 16341 Donmetz St D
Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle Secondary 9351 Paso Robles Ave C
George K. Porter Middle Secondary 15960 Kingsbury St C
John F. Kennedy High Secondary 11254 Gothic Ave C
Dearborn Elementary Charter Academy Elementary 9240 Wish Ave A
Haskell Elementary Elementary 15850 Tulsa St G C
Northridge Academy High Secondary 9601 Zelzah Ave C
Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet Elementary 15848 Stare St C
Darby Avenue Charter Elementary 10818 Darby Ave C

Reader comments

Share what you know about arts education at Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences 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