The positive effects of music education have a ripple effect. The students need a creative outlet to express the life experiences and circumstances so many have survived and thrived through.
Our students are frequently referred to as "those kids, " and we all know that isn't a term of endearment.
The truth is, though, that the students we serve are diverse, disadvantaged, and oftentimes disenfranchised from years of struggling in school for a multitude of reasons. Many of our students come from unimaginable home lives and struggle with the basics in the hierarchy of needs, which pushes school pretty low on their list of priorities. We strive to help the whole student so that they can reengage in school and ultimately be successful, graduate, and hopefully move forward into a post-secondary program. We are a small school with limited resources, so our students don't have the opportunities to explore extracurricular activities that mainstream students enjoy. These activities are essential for students because they engage kids in a way that academic classes alone just can't. Our students deserve to experience this, too.
My Project
This year, we have expanded our music club to a full-fledged music class that students can take for elective credit! We have had so much fun playing percussion, ukuleles, and our acoustic guitars, but we have students who are ready for the next challenge. We are ready to expand our instrument offerings to our rockstar-students.
This class has been such an awesome creative outlet for the ALC students, and I want to let them continue learning and growing in their musical skills.
They have specifically requested to add a bass guitar, a banjo, and a 12-string guitar. These are instruments that we haven't had access to at this point, and I want to change that. We have been working hard to learn and improve, and we're having so much fun performing for the student body and showing off our skills. Watching the confidence grow in these students and seeing the spark of interest strike other students in the building is inspiring. This confidence has transferred to other aspects of their school life, which is huge.
We don't have the budget of a big school to purchase new instruments, nor do our students have the resources to purchase them on their own, so I want to do my part to provide them the opportunity to learn different instruments and continue growing their love of playing music.
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 Mrs. Baethke and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
