This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
As of May 2006, 133 Philadelphia schools (roughly half) do not have a full-time music teacher and 121 do not have a full-time art teacher. Of those schools, 66 have neither a full-time music teacher nor a full-time art teacher. All those schools are listed below.
Many of the schools below expose their students to the arts through other partnerships or activities. A classroom teacher in another subject area may play a major role in supporting arts programming (see profiles of teachers). Many schools share one or more of the 73 "itinerant" instrumental music teachers who come once or twice a week to teach a group of students. Schools without full-time music teachers but with a part-time instrumental teacher are marked with an asterisk.
Schools cite several reasons for not offering art and/or music. Some schools have been unable to fill vacancies (any vacant music or art positions are indicated on the lists), and may end up eliminating these positions. Small schools have difficulty supporting both a music and an art teacher out of their discretionary budgets. Budgetary constraints and a focus on reading and math instruction are cited by District officials as reasons schools lack full-time art and music instructors.
Schools cite several reasons for not offering art and/or music. Some schools have been unable to fill vacancies (any vacant music or art positions are indicated on the lists), and may end up eliminating these positions. Small schools have difficulty supporting both a music and an art teacher out of their discretionary budgets. Budgetary constraints and a focus on reading and math instruction are cited by District officials as reasons schools lack full-time art and music instructors.
Schools with neither a full-time music teacher nor a full-time art teacher:
| AMY – NW * Birney | Hill * Houston ** Howe Kensington Business Kensington Culinary Arts Kinsey LaBrum * Lankenau Lea * Leidy * Levering * + Logan J. Marshall T. Marshall * McCloskey * McClure Meade Mitchell Motivation Olney Elementary * Overbrook Elementary | Parkway Gamma Parkway NW Pennell + W.S. Peirce * Phila HS for Business and Technology Potter-Thomas * Randolph Rhoads * Robeson Human Services Saul Sharswood * Sheridan * Sheridan West Smedley Smith * Spring Garden * E.M. Stanton Stoddart-Fleisher Turner * Vaux * Waring |
Schools lacking a full-time art teacher:
| Anderson Arthur Bartram JH Brown Catharine Cayuga Comly Daroff + Disston Dobbins S. Douglas Ellwood Feltonville Fitler Forrest Fox Chase GAMP Girard Greenfield | Hackett Hamilton * Heston Holme A.S. Jenks J.B. Kelly Kenderton Leeds Military Academy Longstreth Mann Mayfair McDaniel Meehan Mifflin Moffett Morris Nebinger Pastorius Patterson | T.M. Peirce Penrose Powel Pratt Rhawnhurst Rhodes Rowen Shoemaker South Philadelphia Steel Sullivan Washington Elem Grover Washington M.Washington Wright Youth Study Center Ziegler |
Schools lacking a full-time music teacher:
| Adaire * AMY at James Martin * Baldi * Barry Barton * Bethune * Blaine * Bodine * Bok Bregy * H.A. Brown * Cassidy Central East Clemente * + Clymer Cooke Creighton * F. Douglass Drew Duckrey Dunbar H.R. Edmunds * + Elkin | Ferguson * Franklin HS Furness Gillespie Gompers * Hancock Harding * Hartranft Huey * Jackson Jones W.D. Kelley * Key * Kirkbride * Lamberton Lamberton HS Leeds Lewis Lingelbach * Lowell * McKinley * McMichael Olney East/705 | Parkway-CC Pennypack Pennypacker * Pickett Prince Hall * Reynolds Roosevelt Roxborough Rush * Sheppard Stetson * Sulzberger Swenson * Taggart Taylor E. Vare Webster * Whittier * Willard Wilson El Wister |
| KEY | * part-time teacher | (in most cases, this is an itinerant instrumental music teacher) |
| + vacancy | (unfilled art or music teaching position) |
Source: School District of Philadelphia