Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center

Our Students maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 at school to qualify for Pullum Center classes. They attend one or more classes per semester, at least 2 xs per week, arrive on time ready to work and practice daily & become proficient in their chosen performing art. They learn to perform in front of audiences with self-confidence, self-respect & concentration and how to be respectful, cooperative and positive human beings who act as role models for those coming behind them. They also serve the community by participating monthly in feeding the homeless and visiting seniors in nursing homes. Over 90% of the high school students who stay with the program graduate. Over 80% of those who graduate are accepted into colleges and universities. Through exposure to Pullum Center alumni, professional musicians and field trips to local museums, performance venues and colleges, our students develop an enlarged and positive vision of who they can be. IN FISCAL YEAR 18/19 PULLUM CENTER STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN 64 PUBLIC PERFORMANCES,54 COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS, 9 FIELD TRIPS AND 14 VISITS TO SENIOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES. 890 STUDENTS TOOK PULLUM CENTER CLASSES. 76 WEEKLY CLASSES WERE OFFERED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AND 24 WEEKLY CLASSES DURING THE SUMMER PROGRAM. 100% OF THEHIGH SCHOOL SENIORS IN OUR PROGRAM GRADUATED AND ALL WENT ON TO HIGHER EDUCATION.IN FISCAL YEAR 19/20, THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAUGHT AND OUR PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, OUTREACH AND OTHER EVENTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN THAT EXTENDED FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR FROM MARCH 2020 AND AFFECTED ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY. WE EXPECT TO RETURN TO NORMAL OPERATIONS WITH OUR SUMMER PROGRAM IN 2021.The Pullum Center partners with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus (www.lennonbus.org), which provides the students with the opportunity of writing, performing and recording music in a professional studio. This opportunity goes a long way in developing self-esteem and fuels the ambition of those students with exceptional music ability. Students also go on an annual field trip to the Grammy Museum.The Pullum Center is a part of a consortium of arts education providers in Leimert Park, the heart of South Los Angeles. Other organizations in the consortium include The World Stage, Koas Dance, Art Walk, Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, and Vision Theater. The consortium provides a continuum of safe spaces in Leimert Park for at-risk youth and sustains the arts in this vulnerable neighborhood. The organizations, including the Pullum Center, cluster together to form a powerful impact in the lives of people of all ages.