P.S. ARTS
Improving children's lives through arts education
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In 2010, The U.S. Dept. of Ed. issued a public statement declaring the status of arts education in America to be both “an equity issue and a civil rights issue." The subsequent Every Student Succeeds Act enacted in 2015 stipulates that sequential, standards-based arts education is an integral part of children's development." Unfortunately, data as recent as Dec. 2017 indicates that California public schools in mid- to high-poverty communities are not in compliance with federal guidance on arts education. This is especially alarming in light of the research briefing, "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development," validating that participation in arts education promotes skills and knowledge associated with success in school, work, and life. The inequity in access to the arts significantly diminishes college and career prospects for students in underserved communities and contributes to an ever-widening opportunity between generations of Americans.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Classroom Studio
P.S. ARTS is the only organization in Southern and Central California that provides weekly arts instruction in dance, music, theater, and/or visual arts to every child in our partner schools for the entire school year. P.S. ARTS provides two models of its Classroom Studio program: Arts Intensive, and Arts Rotation.
• Dance: The P.S. ARTS dance program is based on the essential elements of dance – Body, Action, Space, and Time. Students explore dance as an art form that has existed across cultures and throughout history for a variety of purposes. Students experience and apply the elements of dance through guided creative movement, improvisation, traditional dance genres, and cultural dances. Observing, interpreting, and reflecting on live dance performances further deepens students’ understanding of dance.
• Music: P.S. ARTS music classes are based on Orff-Schulwerk, a method that incorporates music and movement with an emphasis on learning music by making music. Children play the metallophone, xylophone, glockenspiel, and other percussive instruments as well as recorders. The music generated through singing, movement, games, and instrumental play is largely improvisational and original, which builds a sense of confidence in these children and sparks interest in the process of creative thinking and discovery.
• Theater: P.S. ARTS theater classes use storytelling to explore the connection between dramatic performance and self-expression. The program introduces students to stories from cultures around the world and these stories become catalysts for learning the fundamentals of drama. Theater classes include theater games, improvisation, creative movement, journaling, and writing. Ultimately students learn to tell their own stories through dramatization, an exercise that has a tremendous positive effect on their self-perception.
• Visual Arts: Painting, drawing, sculpting, and installation are just a few of the art forms taught in a P.S. ARTS visual arts class. Lessons are project-based and teach students to create art, to learn how to assess their artistic work, to assess and critique work of others, and to explore possible creative artistic careers. Students in the visual arts classes study the work of master artists and aim to see the world through their eyes as they learn to paint, draw, and sculpt.
Educator Training
P.S. ARTS faculty participate in a pre-service orientation intensive and a rigorous ongoing training series. Full-time P.S. ARTS faculty are required to attend a minimum of 20 hours of professional training and development per year. In addition to reviewing the P.S. ARTS model framework, scope and sequence, approach to curriculum development and documentation annually, P.S. ARTS faculty participate in select training modules related to arts education theory and practice.
Community Engagement
P.S. ARTS coordinates with schools and parent groups to provide intergenerational arts programming for the entire school community. These events feature free, hands-on family themed arts projects and reach nearly 10,000 students and family members annually. In addition to arts projects, families are given information about their students’ arts classes, how to volunteer with our organization, and additional resources (available in English and Spanish) to bring art-making into the home. P.S. ARTS Community Outreach events promote the value and impact of our programs and contribute to long-term arts program sustainability. These events also give families an opportunity to bond through creative activities while getting to know each other as artists in a safe, fun environment.
Extended Learning
Inside Out Community Arts, P.S. ARTS’ inaugural Extended Learning program, aims to give middle and high school students the tools, confidence and inspiration to make positive life choices and become engaged members of their communities.
Our nationally-recognized, award-winning prevention/intervention after-school program utilizes theater, movement, music, writing, and visual arts to explore the imagination in a positive manner in order for youth to build self-esteem, conflict resolution and socialization skills. The program’s interactive workshops address the California Visual and Performing Arts and English-Language Arts Content Standards and introduce participants to the elements of creating a play. Working in teams, participants choose themes of importance to them and create and perform original plays giving voice to their concerns and dreams. Additionally the program’s intention is to build community between diverse youth from various geographic areas. The program brings them together in key program components that include a field trip to see a professional play, a weekend theater camping retreat, and a culminating performance of their original plays at a professional theater.
Where we work
Awards
Honor and Appreciation Award 2011
Lawndale Elementary School District
Honor and Appreciation Award 2010
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Acknowledged in Reinvesting in American Arts Education Report 2011
President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
Featured in Documentary "Arts & The Mind" 2012
PBS
Certificate of Special Recognition 2012
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total number of students served
Total number of free performances given
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Culminating Performances for Inside Out Community Arts (IOCA) program
Number of family members participating in school activities
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Non-adult children
Related Program
Community Engagement
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
P.S. ARTS hosts community engagement events at its partner schools throughout the school year; these include Family Art Nights and Family Workshops, festivals, exhibitions, and performances.
Number of students per teacher during the reporting period
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Classroom Studio
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of administrators and staff who plan and experience professional development activities together
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Educator Training
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
TAs and admin staff
Number of donations made by board members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Numbers of schools served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
P.S. ARTS' long-term goal is to be a best-in-class organization providing rigorous, high quality arts education to California public school students who would not otherwise have access to this Federally mandated curriculum component. We see access to the arts as a fundamental social justice issue of educational equity.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The P.S. ARTS model is unique in the depth and breadth of our service program. P.S. ARTS serves approximately 25,000 children and offers all four fine arts disciplines as permanent full-year residencies in our K-12 partner schools. Additionally, P.S. ARTS programs engage the entire school community, offering free arts and culture events to over 10,000 attendees annually. Our approach is also innovative in that we do not force a prescriptive curriculum or content emphasis on schools. Instead, P.S. ARTS' CEO and programs staff have developed a rigorous framework for providing state and national standards-based arts education that can be customized to fit the individual needs and priorities of a school or district.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
At P.S. ARTS, we believe that sequential, discipline-based arts instruction belongs in the school day alongside other core subjects and we have modeled our programs accordingly. Whereas most arts service organizations in Southern California provide the arts as enrichment programming or short-term residencies, P.S. ARTS programs are based on a “mastery model," providing sequential, year-long, in-school programs; we also offer all disciplines (dance, music, theater, and visual arts). We believe that the children we serve have experienced loss – economic, social, and familial—disproportionate to their more affluent peers, and P.S. ARTS is committed to a sustained, reliable presence in their lives. In fact, P.S. ARTSʼ long-term commitment to schools has been noted as a major strength in a program evaluation conducted by a former Harvard Business School non-profit program sustainability analyst.
The great majority of P.S. ARTS students maintain a mentor/mentee relationship with our Teaching Artist for upwards of five years, or their entire elementary school career. P.S. ARTS is an already established, trusted, and integral presence in the schools we serve and provides the students with a sense of stability and curricula cohesion, as well as a high-quality and high-volume arts education. In addition to P.S. ARTS' high level of service, our per student cost is remarkable low: only $250 per student for the entire school year. We have found that our 20% to 80% administration to programs ratio is quite rare and we are proud to have developed such an efficient administrative infrastructure.
Finally, the P.S. ARTS programs are taught by a Teaching Artist who has a minimum of three years of teaching experience and either a Bachelor or Masters degree in arts, education, or other relevant field. P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists collaborate with classroom teachers, district administrators, and P.S. ARTS staff to develop a curriculum in alignment with VAPA standards as well as with each partner school's educational priorities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over the last two years, P.S. ARTS has been involved in a number of exciting projects. In 2014, P.S. ARTS merged with the award-winning afterschool arts organization Inside Out Community Arts (IOCA); the IOCA program of P.S. ARTS is our inaugural Extended Learning Program and serves hundreds of additional middle and high school students during critical after school time. Additionally, last fall, P.S. ARTS was honored with the Americans for the Arts National Arts Education Award for “transformational leadership in arts education through strategic planning, strong programming, and the engagement of partners to achieve community goals."
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, our service population is mostly students so it's hard to get their/their family's feedback
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
P.S. ARTS
Board of directorsas of 11/30/2023
Carolyn Giangiacomo
Carleen Cappelletti
Paul Cummins
Emeritus
Laura Fox
Stephen McCray
Rona Sebastian
Chi-Chien Hou
David Kahn
Carolyn Giangiacomo
Deborah Gribbon
Jose Vitela
Shareef Farag
Eric Hall
Brielle Block
Lacey Rose
Marina Filippelli
Grace Kangdani
Tawny Krintzman
Shari Rosenblum
Amanda Schuon
Mary-Elizabeth Michaels
Shelton Wilder
Suzanne Rode
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/30/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.