A new study released by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission finds 79 of 81 school districts are partnering with 185 teaching artists and nonprofit arts organizations to bring arts education to students across the region. The report – We Are in This Together: A Survey of Community Arts Partners in LA County Public Schools – is the first attempt to compile a comprehensive list of arts partners serving LA County public schools.

>>The full report can be found here.

Partnerships with outside artists and arts organizations play an important role in supporting arts education in LA County, which is home to 81 school districts and more than 2,198 public schools, serving nearly 1.6 million students. These collaborations with community arts partners may include artist visits to the classroom, residencies, school assemblies and field trips.

The report synthesizes data collected from a survey of 112 individual artists and 224 arts organizations in LA County about the services they provided to K-12 public schools during the school day.

The study found that 185 artists and arts organizations provided services to 1,174 schools in 79 of LA County’s 81 school districts in the 2012-13 school year. It also found that 57 percent of those services were in visual art or music/opera, and that more than 77 percent of arts education provided was for students in grades K-8. In addition, nearly half of all community arts partners charged schools for their services some of the time.

In nine school districts community arts partners provided education services to all schools in the district. The two largest districts, Long Beach Unified and Los Angeles Unified, showed significant partnerships with artists and cultural organizations, with 71 percent and 65 percent of their districts receiving arts education services respectively.

Four local arts organizations, the Autry Museum, Broad Stage, The Music Center and Skirball Cultural Center combined, provided more than one-third of the arts education services.

“This report shows the essential role that community arts providers play in delivering education in schools,” states Laura Zucker, Executive Director, LA County Arts Commission. “We know one in seven jobs in the region is in the creative economy. If we are not preparing students for these jobs we are failing them. Arts education is a critical part of the creative industries pipeline and community arts partners have proven integral to this work.”

A map was created in conjunction with this report that allows parents, educators and others to look up their local school and find out if they are working with arts providers. The map was created through a partnership with the LA County Arts Commission and Arts for LA and is available at map.artsforla.org

This study complements data collected by the California Department of Education on arts courses taught by credentialed teachers, which was analyzed (click here for details) by Arts for All . Further research is needed to understand the full spectrum of arts education, as well as the quality of arts instruction provided in LA County.

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission fosters excellence, diversity, vitality, understanding and accessibility of the arts in Los Angeles County, encompassing 88 municipalities, and provides leadership in cultural services. In addition to its role implementing Arts for All, the regional initiative dedicated to restoring arts education to 81 school districts, the Arts Commission funds 380 nonprofit arts organizations through a $4.5 million grant program, funds the largest arts internship program in the country, programs and operates the Ford Theatres, and manages the County’s civic art policy. The Arts Commission also produces free community programs, including the Emmy® Award-winning LA County Holiday Celebration for public television. lacountyarts.org. @lacountyarts.