Art teacher positions in Philadelphia's public high schools.

Stephanie Petro
December 3, 2007

This paper examines the number of public high schools in Philadelphia that provide at least one art teacher position in the school. Data was collected by using The Office of Secondary Education’s Planning Guide: A Guide for September 2008 High School Admissions as a reference for the public high schools in Philadelphia. The standard determination of an “art teacher” was made on a case-to-case basis. In general the “art teacher” consisted of a teacher who was listed as a staff member, taught actual art courses during the school day, and provided more than one artistic medium to students. High Schools that solely offered “art clubs” were not considered to have an art teacher. The number of Art teacher positions provided in neighborhood and citywide admission schools, special admission schools, and charter schools are compared. Philadelphia’s non- profit art organizations are also closely examined, and City and State funding given to them is considered. Connections between Philadelphia public high schools that do or do not provide “art teachers” and Philadelphia’s non- profit art organizations are considered.

The School District of Philadelphia is the eighth largest district in the nation with the enrollment of 184,560 students. This paper examines the number of public high schools in Philadelphia that provide at least one art teacher position in the school. Philadelphia public school admissions policy was gathered by using The Office of Secondary Education’s Planning Guide: A Guide for September 2008 High School Admissions that is overseen by the School Reform Commission and The School District of Philadelphia as a reference for the public schools in Philadelphia.

The guide is given to Philadelphia public school students in eighth grade (the 2008 edition will be given to seventh grade as well) in the beginning of each school year. The guide is designed to assist parents and students with the high school admission process. The following are excerpts from the guide:


The School District of Philadelphia
Secondary Education Planning Guide

Declaration of Education 2008 Goals:

Early Literacy
• 85% of all students entering kindergarten will have participated in a formal preschool experience
• 80% of all grade 3 students will read on grade level

Academic Achievement
• The District will meet the Adequate Yearly Progress criteria of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation
• 80% of all students in grades 3-11 will perform at or above the proficient level in reading, mathematics and science
• Average SAT and ACT scores will meet or exceed the national average
• 85% of all high school students will graduate
• 80% of graduating seniors will enroll in postsecondary education institutions
• Disparity based on race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status will be less than 10
percentage points on all academic measures

Safe and Orderly Environment
• 95% of respondents on an annual survey will indicate they feel safe at school
• 100% of schools will score a grade “B” or better on the District’s Safe Schools Audit

Community Collaboration
• 100% of schools will have active Home and School Associations or School Councils
• 100% of schools will have active partnerships with community organizations that foster the implementation of the District’s mission

Equity
• 100% of schools will have equity in facilities, programs and resources
• 100% of all high schools will offer honors and Advanced Placement courses
• 100% of District teachers and paraprofessionals will be highly qualified for their positions
• All Philadelphia students will have access to school choice options that include high quality public, privately managed and charter schools

Efficient and Effective Support Operations
• Support services to all schools will be delivered on time, on budget, and with high quality
• The District will achieve a balanced budget that provides for a high quality education for all students


The guide explains that the Philadelphia public high schools are divided into four categories. The four types of schools are Neighborhood High Schools, Citywide Admission High Schools, Special Admission High Schools and Charter High Schools.

Types of High Schools
The School District of Philadelphia has three types of high schools: special admission high schools, citywide admission high schools, and neighborhood high schools. Charter schools are also considered part of the Philadelphia public school system. The school district indicates that eighth grade students must fill out a high school application for up to five (5) schools or programs of any type in any combination. Students who are not accepted to their chosen schools or programs are eligible to attend their neighborhood high schools.


Neighborhood High Schools
These thirty high schools have open admission to students who attend a grade eight school that is within the feeder pattern. Students from outside of the feeder pattern may apply. However, admission is based upon space availability and selection is made by computerized lottery.

Citywide Admission High Schools
These fourteen high schools have admissions criteria. Students citywide may apply. Generally, in order to be eligible for the lottery, they must attend an on-site interview and meet three of our criteria: marks of A, B or C; no more than ten absences; no more than five latenesses; and no negative disciplinary reports. Exceptions are Constitution High School, Douglas, the High School for International Studies and the High School of the Future.

Charter High Schools
The Twenty- four charter high schools in Philadelphia each have their own individual applications. These schools are run by companies outside of the Philadelphia school district, and therefore determine their own application process.

Special Admission High Schools
These eighteen high schools are “magnet schools”, each with their own set of admissions criteria related to attendance, punctuality, behavior, grades and standardized test scores. Students citywide may apply to these special admission high schools. However, it is strongly recommended that you review the set of admissions criteria and your own scholastic record prior to application.

Masterman and Central High School are the most challenging public high schools to attend in Philadelphia. Masterman’s requirements are: J. R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration High School, (Special Admission – Small) Admissions Requirements: 88th percentile or above on the TerraNova, As and Bs with the possible exception of one C, no negative disciplinary reports, good attendance and punctuality. Must have had Algebra 1 and French or Spanish 1 in grade eight. Note: Most students are admitted to Masterman in grade five. Due to space limitations, not every student who meets the requirements will be admitted.

Central’s requirements are as follows: Central High School (Special Admission – Large) Admissions Requirements: 88th percentile or above on the TerraNova, all As and Bs in major Subjects for the last two report periods prior to the year of submission, with the possible exception of one C, no negative discipline reports, excellent attendance and punctuality and a writing sample in the student’s own handwriting submitted as part of the application. Program: International Baccalaureate.

For students who are interested in the arts, the resource guide provides a list of schools they can apply to:

Creative And Performing Arts Programs
Students focus upon the visual arts including drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and crafts and upon the performing arts including instrumental music, vocal music, dance and drama.

Locations: Arts Academy at Rush, CAPA, Fels, Frankford, Franklin Learning Center, GAMP, Girls, Germantown, Gratz, Kensington CAPA, Lincoln, Northeast, Olney, Overbrook, Penn, Roxborough, Strawberry Mansion, Washington and West Philadelphia High Schools


Communications/Graphic Arts
Students prepare for careers in the communications/graphic arts industry and explore digital media, photography, film and video production.

Locations: CAPA, Communications Technology, Dobbins, Edison, Fels, Franklin Learning Center, Mastbaum, Northeast, Penn, Roxborough and Sayre High Schools


The School District of Philadelphia states that it’s mission is to “provide a high-quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential in order to become lifelong learners and productive members of society.”

High School Diploma

In order to earn a high school diploma in Philadelphia, students need to earn a minimum of 23.5 course credits over four years, or accomplish their high school Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals. In most high schools, the course credit distribution requirements for regular education students are:

• 4 English credits: English 1, 2, 3 and 4
• 3 Mathematics credits: Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2
• 3 Science credits: General Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry
• 4 Social Studies credits: World History, African American History, American History and Social Science
• 2 World Language credits: Language 1 and 2
• 2 Arts and Humanities credits
• 1.5 Physical and Health Education credits
• 4 additional credits, one of which must be a fourth credit in Mathematics or in Science or an Advanced Placement (A.P.) or International Baccalaureate (I.B.) course.

Some high school’s have “customized” requirements, with some programs expecting students to earn more than the minimum credits. (School District of Philadelphia).

For the purpose of this paper, it is important to note that when a school does not offer a fine art course, the “2 credits in arts and humanities” requirement are made through humanities courses.


Motivation
I was originally interested in finding out how many low-income high schools in Philadelphia had art teacher’s in schools. I planned to compare the number of art teachers in Philadelphia’s public high schools to the number of art teacher’s in the Philadelphia charter high schools. In conducting the research however, I learned that the standards for public high school admission were more complex and that there were many kinds of “Philadelphia public high schools.”

The means to determine which low-income high schools provided art teachers became greater then simply comparing public high schools vs. charter high schools. In addition, it became apparent to me that, similar to the Philadelphia public high schools run by the Philadelphia School district, the charter high schools seemed to fluctuate between economically stable and economically deprived environments as well.

Research to find the number of art teachers in Philadelphia public high schools and charter schools, also brought my attention to the large number of non-profit art organizations in Philadelphia that proclaim their dedication and service to art in education.

Finding it hard to determine the number of Philadelphia public high schools with art teachers and easy to find the schools that the non- profit art organizations served, I decided it might be interesting to determine the purpose of the non- profit organization’s roles in each school. I wanted to see which schools were served by the non- profit art organizations, and if those school’s had actual art teachers.



Definition of the “Art Teacher”

My standard determination of an “art teacher” in the Philadelphia public high schools was made on a case-to-case basis. In general the “art teacher” consisted of a teacher who was listed as a staff member, taught actual art courses during the school day, and provided more than one medium to students. Schools that solely offered “art clubs” were not considered to have an art teacher.

Further examples of the kind of teacher who I did not consider to be an “art teacher” is a person who taught art, as well as gym class, who were not listed as a staff member, and in a school that did not list art classes as part of their curriculum. Another example of a teacher who I did not consider to be an “art teacher” is someone who only taught computer design, and who’s job title was “Information Technology.” Schools that solely provided music teachers were not included in my data as providing an “art teacher.”

The Data

Using the Office of Secondary Education’s Planning Guide: A Guide for September 2008 High School Admissions, I searched through all of the 86 high schools listed in the guide. I gathered information from the school web site’s, the School District of Philadelphia’s web site for each school, articles pertaining to specific schools and made my determination based on the amount of information I could access. Data for each school with an “art teacher” could have been more thoroughly examined, but for the general purpose of this paper, I felt that I did research each school adequately.

According to the standards that I set for a Philadelphia public high school to have an “Art Teacher” these are the results:

11 out of 30 neighborhood high schools had art teachers, 19 did not.
4 out of 14 citywide admission high schools had art teachers, 10 did not.
10 out of 18 special admission high schools had art teachers, 8 did not.
14 out of 24 charter schools had art teachers, 10 did not.




Of the high schools that the School district of Philadelphia said had art programs Creative And Performing Arts Programs or Communications/Graphic Arts Programs, my research showed the following:

7 of the 15 neighborhood schools that the school district said had art programs did not meet my standard of providing an “art teacher.”

2 of 2 citywide admission high schools that the school district said had art programs did not meet my standard of providing an “art teacher.”

2 of 5 special admission high schools that the school district said had art programs did not meet my standard of providing an “art teacher.”

Zero of zero charter schools that the school district said had art programs did not meet my standard of providing an “art teacher.”


The data provided indicates that the majority of the schools with “art teachers” are difficult to get into. The data also indicates that the information provided by the School district of Philadelphia as to the schools with art programs is inaccurate.

Recognizing that many schools do not have art programs, the school district is trying to find ways to compensate for their shortcomings. In the summer 2006 edition of The Public School Notebook, Dale Mezzacappa reports:

Dennis Creedon, the (Philadelphia School) District’s administrator of creative and performing arts, said that there are no written standards for these arts programs, but added that schools must offer a range of visual arts – drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and crafts – as well as music, drama, and different kinds of dance. This year, he said, University City and William Penn lost their designations because their courses had deteriorated. There is also a growing media arts program for web design and filmmaking in the District, he said.

For middle and high school students whose neighborhoods don’t have arts programs – and for students attending new small high schools that can’t offer art or music – Creedon said the District will open regional Saturday arts programs next year. It is also looking at ways small high schools can share art and music teachers (Mezzacappa, 2006).



I would like to know why the School District of Philadelphia’s Administrator of Creative and Performing Arts promises to open art programs outside of schools? Why is the school district involved in activities provided outside schools? Does the school district intend to have these programs meet the Declaration of Education 2008 Goals provided by the School Reform Commission and The School District of Philadelphia?

Specifically, does the school district intend to have these out of school programs meet their Declaration of Education 2008 Goal of Equity, which declares “100% of schools will have equity in facilities, programs and resources” and “100% of District teachers and paraprofessionals will be highly qualified for their positions?” I would like to know what standards do these programs have?


The Efficient and Effective Way to Deliver State Mandated Curricula
Education reforms and policy changes in the past decade have had a great impact on arts education resulting in a loss of both financial and programmatic support. Budget cuts and current back-to-basics reform movements have severely curtailed the inclusion of arts education, especially in the nation’s elementary schools. As a result, many Ameri¬can schools no longer have the means to deliver quality arts education programs to their students. Schools now look to community arts and cultural institutions to help fill the gap that under-funding and under-valuing of the arts have created. In an effort to deliver state mandated curricula, schools have increased the number of strategic collaborations with arts institutions as a more efficient and effective way. (Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007)

Government Cooperation
Fostering Educational Excellence
The following describes the mission and purpose of Pennsylvania’s Council on the Arts’ (PCA) Arts in Education (AIE) Division as stated on their web site:
The arts are a powerful means of expression – an integral part of a child’s education and a way to engage the creative potential of adults. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ (PCA) Arts in Education (AIE) Division recognizes the power of the arts, and is committed to nurturing it in schools and community settings.
The mission of the PCA is to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state. AIE provides funding for arts-in-education residencies, maintains the Pennsylvania Directory of Artists in Education, and offers professional development opportunities for artists and educators.
The program works with and through a network of AIE Partners comprised of local and regional arts organizations to support quality arts education programs. Funded activities take the form of artist residencies in schools and community settings.
Funding is available to public and private schools, childcare centers, senior centers, units of government, other non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, and other institutions in Pennsylvania. Proposals for funding are evaluated by competitive peer review processes.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) fosters educational excellence through participation in the creative process in schools and community settings through residencies, projects and partnerships between schools or other educational institutions, artists and arts organizations.

Funding from the PCA assists hundreds of Pennsylvania schools to support curriculum, enrich the important work of arts educators, and provide additional opportunities for students to explore and develop their creative abilities. Study of the arts provides children and youth with models for discipline, teamwork, project management and goal setting, along with occasions for intellectual and emotional discovery.

The Arts in Education Division of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts provides funding for arts in education programs and projects, publishes a directory of artists, and offers professional development opportunities for artists and educators such as conferences, workshops, etc. Funding is available to public and private schools; childcare centers, senior centers and other not-for-profit, tax-exempt organizations; and units of government in Pennsylvania. For more information about state arts funding support for arts in education, please contact: 717-787-6883 ext. 3041.

The PCA receives funding through an annual state appropriation and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. (The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 2007)


Non- Profit Art Organization Cooperation in Philadelphia Public Schools
The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership

According to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ (PCA) Arts in Education (AIE) Division the AIE provides funding for arts-in-education residencies, maintains the Pennsylvania Directory of Artists in Education, and offers professional development opportunities for artists and educators. In Philadelphia, the PCA network of AIE Partners is allocated to The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership (PAEP). The Philadelphia Directory of Artists in Education are compiled by the PAEP and can be found in their literature and on their website.

“PAEP has 88 Directory artists and ensembles from our region available to deliver quality residency work including actors, dancers, folk artists, musicians, visual artists, and writers. Each fall PAEP recruits, selects, recommends, and trains new artists to the PA Council on the Arts for inclusion in the program.” (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007) And that “artist residencies are designed as collaborative ventures between teachers and artists placing trained, knowledgeable, practicing artists into schools and community settings.” (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007)

The PAEP promises to deliver quality residency work, however the standard educational level of the artists that is required by the PAEP is not indicated. By failing to include any required educational degrees or teaching certification, the PAEP implies that no educational requirements are mandated to artists for selection into the Directory of Artists in Education. In addition, the PAEP does not indicate in their literature how the “deliverable quality” is measured or what training is provided to the artists selected for the


Examination of the PAEP’s Directory of Artists in Education indicates that there are currently 18 visual artists available for hire. (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007) Along with a photograph of each artist is an artist statement. Included in each of these artist statements are the following facts related to teaching experience or credentials:

Zero of the 18 artists mentioned having a degree in education or art education, or a teaching certification.
2 of the 18 artists mentioned having experience in teaching.
And 16 of the 18 artists failed to possess any teaching knowledge.


The PAEP states that the mission of the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership (PAEP) is to promote learning in and through the arts for students in K-12 schools throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. We accomplish this mission by working with teachers, teaching artists, school districts, colleges and universities, and 82 arts and cultural institutions throughout the region to encourage excellence in art-in-education practice, and to bring arts-based learning experiences to all students. (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007)

According to the data proved by the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, the number of Philadelphia public high schools that participated in the “Arts-Based Collaborative Partnership Program” for the following years were:

2001- Central High School
2002- Edison High School
2003-2004- Olney High School (Twi-Lite School)
2004-2005- J.R. Masterman Laboratory & Demonstration School (Two programs were completed at this program during the 2004-2005 school year. Neither program included fine art.)
2005-2006- n/a
2006- 2007- Overbrook High School and
Germantown High School

The PAEP states that “The Philadelphia Arts Education Partnership believes that every child is entitled to a comprehensive education in the arts.” (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007) Research of the past collaborative partnerships designed by the PAEP, however do not support this statement. In addition of the six Philadelphia public high schools included by the PAEP, 4 of the 6 schools currently by my definition have an “art teacher.”

Now, with a grant allocation to school partnerships of more than $80,000 a year, immediate efforts were made to codify the grant-making process, to build collaborative capacity among project participants, and to begin to document the impact of these projects on student learning. (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007)


Non- Profit Art Organization Cooperation in Philadelphia Public Schools
The Mural Arts Program

Among the list of organizations that participate with the PAEP, The Mural Arts Program is one that is widely known throughout Philadelphia. Mural Arts describes the process of working with schools as follows:

The initial applicant pool was made up of over 50 schools. While we were thrilled that so many interesting institutions applied, the large number of candidates made the decision process a truly daunting task. Each school was required to include a thoughtful plan specifying how they would incorporate a diverse group of students in their project. In addition, we wanted to be sure our schools had meaningful and thoughtful mural themes that resonated with the lives of each student. All applications were thoroughly reviewed by a panel of PSD art administrators and MAP artists and administrators.

A core group of students from the selected schools worked with mural artists from MAP to learn the process of mural-making through hands-on activities that were incorporated into the final mural. These students also learned about the history of this great form of public art and the importance of community engagement in the mural-making process.

A much larger group of students were included in school assemblies and had an opportunity to participate in the mural's creation through community paint days. Upon completion of each project, a dedication was held to allow everyone to take pride in a beautiful and meaningful mural where a drab brick or cinderblock wall once stood. These celebrations publicly acknowledged the murals, as well as the school and the students who participated in their creation.

According to the standards that I set for a Philadelphia public school to have an “Art Teacher” these are the following schools that participated in the mural arts program:

6 of the 19 neighborhood high schools that did not have an “art teacher” had participated in a program with Mural Arts. 5 of the 11 schools that did have an art teacher also participated in the Mural Arts program. 11 out of 30 of the neighborhood high schools had participated in the mural arts program.

Zero of the 10 citywide admission high schools that did not have an art teacher participated in the Mural Arts Program. 1 of the 4 citywide admission high schools that did have an art teacher participated in the Mural Arts Program. 1 of the 14 citywide admission high schools participated in the Mural Arts Program.

Zero of the 8 special admission high schools that did not have a high school art teacher participated in the Mural Arts program. Zero of the 10 special admission high schools that did have an art teacher participated in the Mural arts program. Zero out of 18 special admission high schools participated in the mural arts program.

Zero of the 10 charter high schools had that did not have a high school art teacher participated in the Mural Arts program. Zero of the 14 charter high schools that did have an art teacher participated in the Mural arts program. Zero out of 24 charter high schools participated in the mural arts program.



The data can be interpreted in various ways. The data that seems the most evident to me is that the majority of schools that included the Mural Arts Program, and the PAEP were the Neighborhood High Schools. These are the schools that are the least competitive to get into. These are also the schools that seem to have the least amount of art teachers.








Conclusions and Recommendations

The School District of Philadelphia states that it’s mission is to “provide a high-quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential in order to become lifelong learners and productive members of society.” The School District of Philadelphia should recognize that the arts and humanities credits required for high school graduation must be included in their Declaration of Education 2008 Goals.

The School District should be accountable for these standards in accordance with the Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities as indicated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2002) In addition the Department of Education should determine why art programs outside of the school are being substituted for academic art courses. As well as why the Pennsylvania’s Council on the Arts’ (PCA) is funding programs that do not meet the Arts and Humanities standards.

Conclusions should be made to determine how much money is going to the abundant non-profit art organizations in Philadelphia. Standards should be set for the artists that educate these children, because knowing art and teaching art are two very different things. To me, it seems that these non- profit art organizations in Philadelphia are raising money to put back into schools, and in turn get to determine the level of education designated to particular schools around the city.

Articles that proclaim things such as “The School District of Philadelphia Receives a 4-Year Grant to work with the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership” (The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, 2007) concern me because as indicated further in the article, the funds for the grant that is given to the School District of Philadelphia are made possible by the United States Department of Education.



Further Research Ideas



Further research ideas that should be considered for this topic in the Philadelphia Public high schools are:

Comparisons between schools not meeting the AYP standards and schools with art teachers.

The number of student to art teacher ratio per school.

Comparison between the number of corrective discipline reports and schools with art teachers.

Comparison between the number of school police officers and art teachers in a school.

Comparison between the number of art teachers in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools.

Comparison of the art teacher to student ratio in Philadelphia school and charter schools.









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