Students in arts-focused high schools mostly white, wealthy

Education research in Toronto finds surprisingly little diversity in programs

Students in Toronto’s arts-focused high schools are overwhelmingly white and come from high-income families despite living in one of the most diverse school districts in North America, suggests new research from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

The study looked at 550 kids tran- sitioning from middle school into Grade 9 at three of the city’s four publicly funded arts schools. Two of the arts focused schools are standalone and two are within bigger high schools.

Researchers found 67 per cent of those students identified as white compared to only 29 per cent of the elementary school population.

“It’s kind of stark that these schools that are meant to serve the entire board are so homogeneous,” said Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez, an associate professor at OISE and a coauthor of the study.

The study, which used data from the board’s own 2011-12 Parent and Student Census, will be published Monday in a peer review journal, and was provided in advance to Metro.

Ryan Bird, spokesman for the Toronto District School Board, declined comment “until staff are able to fully review the report once it is released.”

The study also found kids entering arts schools were more likely to have a parent with a university education. More than half of students who started Grade 9 at one of the schools came from 18 feeder elementary schools that lacked diversity, out of 195 with Grade 8 classes.

Gaztambide-Fernandez said reasons for the gap go beyond the application process, which can include essays, auditions and letters of recommendation, to how we define arts and what it means to be an artist.

“We need to rethink what exactly these art schools are offering,” he said.

“If you’re a hip-hop dancer or a spoken word artist or a graffiti artist you’re not likely to get in.”

Annie Kidder, executive director of the advocacy and research group People for Education, said the board must walk the “hard and sticky balance” between what parents want for their children and making sure public education stays equitable.

Part of that is making sure all students, not just those in special schools, have access to the arts so they learn skills like diligence and problem solving, even if they don’t go on to become professional ballerinas.

“What we don’t want is for schools to replicate a problem we already have in society,” she said.