Trinity+Arts+Academy

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= = Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts is a small independent charter school located in Providence, Rhode Island. The school is open to students who are in grades 7-12 and live in Providence. In order to make information relate to the newly founded school, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA), a list of data of mostly the middle schools and high schools in Providence has been compiled. The Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, as of the data collected from 2012 - 2013 academic year, only had students enrolled in grades 7 through 9. The information must be current and relevant to the school so that it can be compared to the Providence district as a whole in order to understand the achievement of charter schools without restrictions from the government.
 * //Introduction and Mission //**

TAPA's mission is to, “develop well-rounded, educated, artistic and professional community leaders who practice service and teamwork in initiating and implementing goals, with a focus on the global society” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts."). = = == = =

This charter school was founded to help establish a unique arts-integration perspective on learning. Here they encourage that, “students learn math, English, science and history //through// drama, film, music and dance.” Unlike most schools, art is considered a core subject and is used as a catalyst for the other subjects or at the very least as a tool for connecting subjects together. The arts-integration pyramid that is displayed above explains the different levels that they want to achieve in the classroom. Only “10-20% of […] class time is spent in the "Independent" section of the pyramid.” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).
 * //TAPA Overall //**


 * //Admissions //**

There are 69 students at the school at the moment in grades 7-9. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013). By 2016 there will be children in grades 7-12. It does not charge anything to attend and a school bus is provided for many students. Admissions is based on a lottery system. Applications are taken until February 23rd of each year and the lottery takes place on March 1st. (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).


 * //Accountability and Testing //**

The school is doing quite well in terms of accountability and its testing. As of 2012-2013 the school is considered leading based on their proficiency, gap closure, progress and distinction. They have not yet graduated any students so their score is not reflective of that, although it looks promising that most students will graduate from TAPA. As for their NECAP scores, every percentage from TAPA is lower than the state average. There are only 69 students, but it still poses a problem. The writing and math scores are among their top scores. 68% of 8th graders are proficient in reading and 50% of 8th graders are proficient in writing. This is still lower than the state’s average of 77% proficient in reading and 65% proficient in writing. The 8th grade science NECAP was the worst problem. In 2011-2012, only 9% of 8th grade students were proficient. This was extremely behind the state average of 30%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).


 * //Students //**

Attendance is very good at TAPA. The general attendance percentage is 96%; two points higher than the state average. Over 86% of students have never skipped school and only 4% have shown chronic absenteeism. This is much lower than the 14% of Rhode Island kids who continuously skip class. The school population is slightly more female dominated with 58% of the students being female. About 71% of students are of Latino or Hispanic dissent. There is a good percentage, about 16%, of African American students that attend TAPA. The rest of the student population is either white, Native American, Asian, or multiracial. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).

In general the students approve of teacher practices. More than 50% of students believe that their teachers give clear instructions and give students enough time to complete their work. Statewide students overall only agree with this 37.5% of the time. 60% of students agree that teachers do not let things get out of control in the classroom, which is also higher than the 57% state average. About half of the students at TAPA believe that their teacher has made the effort to re-explain material different ways until the student understands it. 50% of students also believe that their teachers help them catch up on work if they missed class. Both of these statistics are about 10% higher than the state average. Most students use technology, specifically computers, for most of the core subjects. These include math, art, social studies, science and English. About 80% of TAPA students use computers for all of these subjects, while statewide the highest percentage of computer usage in school for any subject is 56.3%. These statistics demonstrate that the staff and processes at TAPA are creating a good learning environment. Teachers want students to succeed and are willing to put the effort in to see that happen. The introduction of technology into the classroom will also help students in this ever evolving world. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).

TAPA is mostly a safe school. 20% of students have reported theft at the school, and this is only about 3% higher than the state average. Overall, almost all students feel safe at and around school. About 97% of students agree that they feel safe in the hallways, and about 80% of students feel safe when they walk outside of school. Statewide only about 85% of students feel safe in the hallways and 82% feel safe outside school. Although the last statistic is a little higher than TAPA’s it is not a significant difference. Like any school there is bullying in many forms. More than 50% of students have been made fun of or insulted, which is higher than the state average of 44%. Other serious forms of bullying are less common, such as being threatened with harm. There are only about 14% of students that have encountered that. In the state the average is higher at about 16%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013). = =

** //Providence Public Schools// **
// **Accountability** // On the composite index measures of the state of Rhode Island in the area of proficiency, the middle schools of Providence scored a 10 out 30 whereas the high schools, also of Providence, scored 11 out of 30. The achievement gap at the middle schools received a 16.5 out of thirty and the high schools had a score of 19.5 out of 30 on the composite index measure chart. However, their progress is very well, the middle schools achieved a 10 and the high schools 7 out of the highest composite score of a 10. (INFOWORKS!).

// **Testing** // Only 7th through 12th grades were enrolled and the only assessment that was taken at TAPA was the NECAP test. Out of the seventh graders in the Providence district who took the assessment, 34% passed the math with proficient. In the reading section, 46% of those students that took the test passed with proficiency. At the 8th grade level, 34% passed the math and 57% passed the reading with a proficient score. Those at the 8th grade level also took a writing section and science section; those passed with proficiency were 46% and 9% respectively. Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts is performing better than the district, but not at the state level. (INFOWORKS!).

In the Providence school district, 93% of middle school students attend regularly and at the high school level, 89% do. Overall, the district has a 92% attendance rate. The middle schools have 23% of their students that have had chronic absenteeism and the high schools, 36%. The city's students are majorly Hispanic, being 64% of the enrolled students. African-American students are another 18% and White another 9% of the student body. The remaining student population is 5% Asian, 3% multiracial and 1% Native American. (INFOWORKS!).
 * //Students// **

The number of incidents of Anger or violence in the school district of Providence at the middle school level has reported 1,153 incidents. However, 711 of them were caused because of fighting and threats/intimidation cases. At the high school level, only 497 incidents were reported and 299 of them involved fighting and threats/intimidation. It is unknown exactly how safe the district's students feel as a whole in and out of school and how they feel about the quality of their teachers.(INFOWORKS!).

**//Conclusion and Final Thoughts //**
Overall, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts continues to develop and improve. S <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;">tudents of both TAPA and Providence public schools are rather diverse. For the school being relatively new it is doing a great job creating a safe and effective teaching environment for the students compared with the rest of the district's public schools. TAPA has a better attendance rate than the schools in the Providence district. Overall, their NECAP scores are better than those 7th and 8th graders who took it. They do have some problems, as does any school, but TAPA seems to be doing its best for the future of itself and its students.

__**//References//:**__

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">INFOWORKS!. (2013, October 29). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> - //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/district/providence

RIDE. (2013, October 29). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/trinity-academy-for-the-performing-arts TAPA. (2013, October 29). Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.trinityacademyfortheperformingarts.org/mission.html