My students need music books for their music classes! The enrollment is up at our music magnet elementary school and we have more instruments than books.
$549 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
Cinderella lived happily ever after because her fairy godmother came to her rescue. I'm a modern-day fairy godmother who helps both boys and girls. Also, instead of whipping up ball gowns and rides to the castle, I hand out musical instruments and give music lessons to young children.
Our school is an elementary music magnet, so every student receives two to eight hours of music classes per week.
We offer instruction in flute, clarinet, cornet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, voice, piano, and hand bells. We attract students from throughout the district, but the overwhelming majority live in the immediate neighborhood, which is a high-poverty, high-crime, urban area. The student population is 53% Latino and 45% African American. Every year the staff participates in a voluntary program to purchase one pair of shoes for each student and during the holidays we donate turkeys and hams. Single-parent households and unemployment are common.
Yet, the students are resilient! Our test scores have steadily increased for the past three years, and the school culture continues to improve. Accordingly, the excellence of the students' musicianship increases every year, even though admission to our school is based on a simple lottery without any music audition.
My Project
The enrollment at our music magnet elementary school increased by 29 this year. As a result, we need more materials. We have borrowed additional instruments and are also in the process of acquiring more instruments. (See our other Donors Choose projects.)
We also need more music instruction books. We currently have dozens of students who have instruments but no books. However, because each student can participate in up to four different music classes, we do not simply need 29 more books. By giving the students books for all of their music classes, we will be providing them with reference materials on note reading, fingering, music terminology, and proper playing position.
A book is an essential tool in the study of any subject. Students who study music are more likely to get college educations and are more likely to lead successful and happy lives. Such outcomes would be tremendous leaps forward for our students, especially those living in generational poverty.
In 2007 Ed Bradley did a "60 Minutes" segment on El Sistema, the Venezuelan program that produced conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
When Bradley interviewed Lennar Acosta, a former juvenile drug dealer, he asked him what it was like to hold a clarinet for the first time. Acosta said that it wasn't like holding a gun.
Let our children know nothing about handling weapons, but much about handling musical instruments. Let them discover how they can make the world a better place. Be a part of that change.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Quan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
