Diversity at SOTA

A resolution on this week's Board of Ed agenda called for examining the enrollment process at School of the Arts. The resolution has been withdrawn or postponed — presumably an explanation is forthcoming. But as this put the issue of diversity at SOTA on the table, SOTA Principal Donn Harris has provided information in a letter to the SOTA community.

Mr. Harris' letter, pasted below, makes clear that SOTA has been remarkably successful in increasing diversity. The California Department of Education calculates each school's diversity with a formula that assigns a score. By its gauge, SOTA is the second-most-diverse SFUSD high school, behind only Balboa. (The diversity scores for SFUSD high schools are pasted below the letter)

November 15, 2006

SOTA Community:

I am writing to give the community some important information about the recent Board of Education resolution suggesting future changes in the admissions policies of Lowell and SOTA High Schools. Upon my appointment as the SOTA principal in 2001, I was assigned to a Task Force charged with the development of a SOTA admissions policy that would increase access to the school, open up opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds, and maintain the rigorous artistic standards that had made the school a popular choice for many families. As this was a primary goal I held upon accepting this incredible principalship in 2001, I was ready to attack this problem immediately and was happy to be part of a District effort in this critical area.

The Task Force aggressively and enthusiastically went about its work from the first session. We focused on identification of students from underrepresented schools, building an infrastructure of contacts with counselors and arts teachers and the establishment of a visible, aggressive outreach program that would put us out into the community as ambassadors and recruiters. We agreed to accept students on potential, adjusted our audition practices to allow for alternate means of demonstrating talent, and for the past four years have continued to refine our processes and strengthen both our profile in the community and the fairness of our admissions procedures.

With financial assistance from the Miranda Lux, San Francisco and Friends of SOTA Foundations, Artistic Director Susan Stauter and I created a position that was the first of its kind among public arts schools in the United States – Director of Recruitment and Outreach. Using our grant funds, the power of our imaginations and fueled by our fierce commitment to diversity, we crafted the position to be a cornerstone of a ground-breaking recruitment plan that is now in its fifth year. It is with great pride that I can point to our successes. The following table and bullet points were included in a hand-out we delivered to the Board of Education on November 14.

SF School of the Arts Demographic Profile: 2001-2006

	2001	2006	% Change
Total Students	400	800	+100%
African-American	6%	11%	+83%
Latino	10%	17%	+70%
Chinese	11%	14%	+27%
White	38%	31%	-18%
Other Non-White	12%	16%	+33%
Special Education	7%	11%	+57%

SF School of the Arts Recruitment and Outreach Programs

• The development of The Academy of Arts and Sciences, a new adjunct to SOTA in which students may enroll without an audition. 615 students applied for the 80 seats that were available for the fall 2006 term, and the final selections were made through the diversity index lottery system.
• The creation of a Recruitment and Outreach Director who works with middle schools to attract students from underrepresented schools and ethnic groups to SOTA.
• Through a grant from the San Francisco Foundation administered by the Friends of SOTA Foundation, SOTA funds classes for middle school students in theatre, dance, visual arts and vocal music. In 2006, 12 of 18 students who participated in these after-school programs were admitted into SOTA.
• Partnerships with the American Conservatory Theater and the Community Music Center have allowed SOTA to identify promising middle school students and enroll them in arts programs that help prepare them for enrollment in SOTA.
• SOTA students perform community service at elementary and middle schools to strengthen arts programs throughout SFUSD.
• SOTA has held numerous events for middle school students, both in the community and on the SOTA campus. Over 2000 middle school students have attended these events over the past four years.
• SOTA is the designated site for the new offices of the SFUSD Visual and Performing Arts Department, where implementation of the new Arts Education Master Plan includes professional development for teachers, administrators and artists.

We as a community can be extraordinarily proud of our achievements in this area. We have worked in this direction because we believe in the creation of opportunities for all individuals and recognize our responsibility in the public arena to address inequities and take action. The creation of The Academy of Arts and Sciences is an unparalleled innovation that opens up a world of opportunity to students who might not have otherwise been able to experience the magic of creativity and inspiration. The items above are evidence of a school community that is filled with enormous inspiration, a sense of social justice, and the competence and expertise to envision programs, implement them, and produce measurable results. I am proud to be at the forefront of these efforts and commend each and every member of the SOTA and Academy of Arts and Sciences communities for their contributions to this amazing set of achievements.

A recent review of data from the California Department of Education indicates that in 2005-2006, School of the Arts, based on a diversity formula that takes all ethnic groups and their percentages into account, was the second most diverse high school in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Finally, we need to ensure that this message becomes part of the public record. The recently published BOE resolution regarding the development of a new District-wide admissions plan includes a clause that recommends another Task Force be created to examine the SOTA admissions policy. I welcome the examination of our current policy and am confident that it will reveal what I have just described above — that this community has risen to the challenge and will continue to push the envelope on this effort without sacrificing the high standards we have developed and nurtured. With Proposition H and the Arts Master Plan promising the city an entire school district filled with art and music and creativity at all levels, SOTA should have no difficulty attracting a diverse group of young artists in the future.

Again, my thanks to all of you for your unflagging efforts in helping to create a world-class educational environment that is available to children of all backgrounds.

Your Principal,
Donn Harris

Diversity scores, from the California Department of Education website:
'05-'06 school year

Ethnic Diversity
School Index
Balboa 65
SOTA 63
Burton 62
ISA 62
Jordan 62
Mission 62
Wallenberg 50
Marshall 47
Galileo 39
Lowell 35
Washington 33
Lincoln 32
O'Connell 30