The Arts in Portland Public Schools

               For my final project I will be working with Liz and Rie to tackle the various aspects of the Arts in Portland Public Schools. Because this is such a broad topic we will each be a taking a stance on specific issues associated with the Arts in Portland Public Schools. Right now it looks like Rie will be working on illuminating the financial aspect of the Arts in Portland Public Schools in comparison between two different schools. My understanding is that Liz will be investigating the effect of cutting Arts programs from schools on the students.

                I will be investigating the impact of Arts programs on graduation rates in Portland Public schools. At the moment I am looking specifically into Bridger Elementary but my desire is to get in touch with some faculty at a local high school. My problem is that I was raised in Washington and so I haven’t the faintest idea of which high school to look at or if high schools even a have arts programs here in Portland.

                Regardless of who I choose to interview-- my supervisor over at Bridger or a faculty member at a local high school—I know that the graduation rates of local schools are available online and at the public library so I can at the very least perform a statistical analysis to check for a correlation between graduation rates and the presence of arts programs.