FREE MUSIC LESSONS FOR KIDS
http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/fundingPartnerCaseLKR.cfm
In elementary schools, children often learn to play instruments such as keyboards or recorders, sing in small choirs, and learn about the elements of musical sound and history of music. Although music education in many nations has traditionally emphasized Western classical music, in recent decades music educators tend to incorporate application and history of non-western music to give a well-rounded musical experience and teach multiculturalism and international understanding. In primary and secondary schools, students may often have the opportunity to perform in some type of musical ensemble, such as a choir, orchestra, or school band: concert band, marching band, or jazz band. In some secondary schools, additional music classes may also be available. In junior high school or its equivalent, music usually continues to be a required part of the curriculum.
Little Kids Rock: California, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Washington, D.C.
The Challenge
As schools face increasing pressure to improve student achievement and budget cuts that leave little funding for instruction outside of the core curriculum, programs such as music instruction are often edged out of the school day. Afterschool programs can help fill this gap, allowing students to explore music and the arts. Finding people who can teach music, however, can present a challenge. Some programs may opt to hire private music teachers, but that is often prohibitively expensive. Other programs recruit experienced musicians to volunteer their time, but volunteers can be inconsistent, making it difficult to rely on them. Plus, experienced musicians and private music instructors may have the ability to teach a student how to play an instrument, but they often lack the experience and skill to manage an entire classroom.
The Partnership Solution
Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free music lessons to elementary and middle school youth in public schools, recruits full-time classroom teachers and music teachers to volunteer their time to provide music classes in classrooms and afterschool programs. Music mentors, as they are called, are recruited through the Little Kids Rock website and through the school districts, which distribute fliers to district teachers to let them know about the opportunity. In order to be a music mentor, teachers must be employed by the district in which they will be teaching the Little Kids Rock classes and must be able to play the instrument that they will be teaching with some proficiency.
Music mentors already have classroom management and music skills. Little Kids Rock provides a teaching pedagogy, training and support, curriculum and, thanks to support from the music industry, free instruments for their students. In addition to a two-day intensive training session, music mentors are given materials such as teachers' manuals with lesson plans, CDs with instructional tracks, and computer software, and support to record students' work at the end of the year.
The rewards of teaching Little Kids Rock classes are primarily non-monetary. Although some districts may offer a stipend or hourly wage for teaching Little Kids Rock classes, music mentors are not paid by Little Kids Rock for their time. Music mentors gain valuable experience teaching music and learn new ways to keep learning compelling and engaging.
School districts benefit from having classroom and music teachers teaching the Little Kids Rock classes. Because the teachers are employees of the district, they have already been screened, have passed background clearance checks, and are covered under the district's liability insurance policies.
Since 1996, Little Kids Rock has recruited and trained hundreds of classroom and music teachers to be music mentors. As a result, thousands of youth in public elementary, middle and high schools have received free music lessons, and school districts in more than 18 cities across the country have been able to bring music back to the schools. Currently, about 300 Little Kids Rock music mentors have been trained to provide free music lessons to more than 7,000 youth in six states.
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