Appendix C: K-6 Arts Assessment (Principals) Survey Results
To understand the current state of K-8 arts education in Sacramento County, we surveyed all principals serving in K-8t grade schools across five school districts: Sacramento City (SCUSD), Elk Grove (EGUSD), Twin Rivers (TRUSD), Robla (RSD), and Natomas (NUSD). Principals (or school-level leads) were asked various questions about current availability of arts education, barriers to arts education, and quantity of opportunities provided to students. In total, 55% of surveys were completed across all districts (78 responses).
| School District | Total Schools | Total Participated | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove | 42 | 15 | 35.71% |
| Natomas | 12 | 11 | 91.67% |
| Robla | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| Sacramento City | 54 | 28 | 51.85% |
| Twin Rivers | 28 | 19 | 67.86% |
| Total | 141 | 78 | 55.32% |
Results overview:
Most schools in the school districts surveyed provide a very limited number of art exposure experiences. These experiences come in the form of field trips and assemblies and vary in number, not only between the districts, but also within the districts themselves. Also, because the frequency of exposure varies, some students may or may not have the opportunity to engage in the experiences. It was reported by all districts that arts exposure experiences vary by individual teacher and by grade level. Among those surveyed, the after-school programs played a significant role in providing arts exposure experiences, thus limiting access to those who are not part of after school programs. Types of programming include Firefly Arts, ASES, START, and PTA programs. Recurring programs across districts were Firefly Arts and ASES. At least three school districts (Elk Grove, Natomas, Sacramento City) use Firefly Arts for after school arts opportunities. Elk Grove, Sacramento City, and Twin Rivers use ASES programming for after school arts opportunities.
Funding was not only identified as a barrier to increasing arts education, but was also chosen as the most important action to do so.
Students have opportunities to experience visual arts, dance, performing arts, and music across all the districts. However, visual Arts and music are offered more than twice as much as dance and theater.
Detailed Survey Data and Analysis
Designated Arts Coordinator: Across all five districts, roughly 1/3 of schools that responded to the survey have a designated arts coordinator, while 2/3 do not. Among schools in TRUSD, that data is flipped, with ¾ of schools having a designated arts coordinator and just ¼ do not.
SCUSD had the lowest rate of designated arts coordinators at schools, with just 3% of schools responding to our survey claiming they had such a role.
| School District | Responses | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robla | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| Twin Rivers | 20 | 75% | 25% |
| Unspecified | 22 | 45% | 55% |
| Natomas | 11 | 27% | 73% |
| Elk Grove | 15 | 13% | 87% |
| Sacramento City | 30 | 3% | 97% |
We posed several questions to understand how often non-arts instructors were given the opportunity to incorporate arts exposure experiences within their classrooms. We also asked about ongoing training opportunities and professional development opportunities for non-arts instructions.
Incorporate arts exposure within classrooms
| School District | Yes | No | Sometimes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robla | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Elk Grove | 93% | 7% | 0% |
| Twin Rivers | 90% | 5% | 5% |
| Sacramento City | 80% | 10% | 10% |
| Natomas | 72% | 10% | 18% |
Frequency of non-arts instructors for opportunity to incorporate arts exposure in classroom
| School District | Daily | Weekly | Quarterly | As They Deem Necessary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Natomas | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Robla | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Sacramento City | 1 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Twin Rivers | 2 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
Ongoing education for non-arts instructors
| School District | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Robla | 60% | 40% |
| Twin Rivers | 60% | 40% |
| Sacramento City | 27% | 73% |
| Elk Grove | 26% | 74% |
| Natomas | 18% | 82% |
Respondents also rated the availability of equipment, supplies and facilities for arts instruction or exposure for their schools:
Arts Equipment
| School District | More Than Enough | Enough | Barely Enough | Not Enough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento City | 0 | 3 | 6 | 21 |
| Elk Grove | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| Natomas | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Twin Rivers | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| Robla | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Arts Supplies
| School District | More Than Enough | Enough | Barely Enough | Not Enough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento City | 0 | 3 | 10 | 17 |
| Elk Grove | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Natomas | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Twin Rivers | 1 | 14 | 5 | 1 |
| Robla | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
Arts Facilities
| School District | More Than Enough | Enough | Barely Enough | Not Enough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento City | 1 | 5 | 9 | 16 |
| Elk Grove | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Natomas | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Twin Rivers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Robla | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Principals were asked to describe, on average, how many students at their school in grades K-8 were provided arts exposure during the school day. They were asked to describe these opportunities. Arts exposure for the purpose of this survey was defined as an experience outside formal arts instruction that incorporates purposeful experience and engagement with arts (i.e. performances, field trips, in-class arts projects, etc.).
- Elk Grove
- Ranges from no outside exposure to 100%
- Natomas
- Ranges from very few to 100%
- Robla
- Overall, majority or 100%
- Sacramento City
- Ranges from every day to 1 – 2 times per year
- Twin Rivers
- Varies from most to 100%
Principals responded to how many days per week arts instruction classes are offered during the school year:
| School District | 1 Day/week | 2 Days/week | 3 Days/week | 4 Days/week | 5 Days/week | None |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove | 34% | 0 | 6% | 0 | 0 | 60% |
| Sacramento City | 41% | 7% | 0 | 0 | 4% | 48% |
| Natomas | 36% | 0 | 9% | 0 | 9% | 45% |
| Robla | 80% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20% |
| Twin Rivers | 94% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6% | 0 |
Principals were asked to cite biggest barriers to increasing arts education opportunities at their school.
General Trend: Of the 78 who answered, Funding was viewed as the number one barrier to increasing arts education.
