This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Wait your turn." Children are told to wait their turn when getting drinks, walking into a room, and, at our school, getting new instruments for class. We need new Orff xylophones, as the four we own are rusting and wearing down. If we wait any longer, they may be unsafe to use!
My students are mostly Latino demographic, most come from a poor-to-working-class background.
Some are refugees, many are immigrants, and a large percentage of the students are still learning English. Budget cuts over the past decade have drastically reduced the arts budget in our district, even as our class sizes increase every year. My largest class has 34 students. Our school has two music teachers. We each see half of the 1,000 person student body every three days. Between our two classrooms, we have one classroom set of glockenspiels in good condition, two sopranos, and 3 alto xylophones (2 of which are in deplorable condition). That averages out to each instrument being handled by almost 30 children a week!
My Project
Several of the state music standards for 4th-6th grade require students to learn about chords, ostinato, and voicing of music (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). This is difficult to accomplish with so few instruments. Having enough xylophones in the aforementioned voices would afford the students opportunity to explore three and four voice-literature. They would also be able to accompany themselves when singing folk songs in class, even composing their own accompaniments! Our three alto metal xylophones show signs of corrosion. Our wooden xylophone is stained and worn down, with the rubber mount strip barely holding the bars in place. I am requesting a new wooden alto xylophone. While the students are generous regarding pair-sharing, and exercise the utmost care with the instruments, they would definitely benefit from a safe, rust-free xylophone in the rotation.
Your donation would benefit hundreds of children, allowing them more one-on-one time with the instruments and, most importantly the opportunity to hear chords played between the different voices.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Thompson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
