Music Instruments & Supplies for NYC Kids

Happy spring from ETM!

The school year may be wrapping up, but our partner school students are still hard at work building a wealth of skills and discovering new talents during their weekly in-school music classes. This has been an exciting year where students have improved their cognitive reasoning and boosted their self-esteem through the greatest gift of all: music. Your generosity is impacting over 27,000 students across New York City. Because of you, our students are becoming well-rounded children with brighter futures ahead.

For our first-year partner school students, this has been an especially incredible and thrilling year because it was the first time that comprehensive music instruction played a constant role in their learning experience. And because of this opportunity, they have started to think differently about themselves, their futures, and their education. The music program also provides an exciting new avenue to unify the communities of first-year partner schools. For many parents, events such as student concerts foster a new, positive association with their child’s school and offer them a way to engage with other members of the school community.

For P.S. 277 in the Bronx, the thriving music program is making a huge difference in the community. The school is located in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx and serves approximately 440 students in grades Pre-K-5. Of these 440 students, 99% are students are of color, 16% are English Language Learners, 94% qualify for the Federal Free/Reduced Price Lunch Program, and 10% have special needs.

ETM music teacher Adrianna Lee has witnessed first-hand the impact the music program has had on the school. She believes that the program has genuinely become embedded in the school’s culture.

“I have heard such wonderful feedback from many of the teachers at the school. Before the winter break, I took the select chorus caroling around the school. The 1^st-grade teacher told me that it was such a lovely gift to both the kids and teachers and that no one had ever done anything like that with such energy and enthusiasm. Recently, I spoke to the receptionist who said that she was so impressed by the quality of the kid's singing. She said that there were so many kids who were participating with such enthusiasm and that she had no idea how many kids were so talented at the school. Finally, she thanked me for bringing it out of the students in a way that she'd never seen.”

The students’ hard work culminated in a spectacular spring concert in April. The auditorium was packed with parents, guardians, and members of the community. Each song was greeted with thunderous applause as the students beamed with effusive pride. Ms. Lee had the students sing advanced repertoire that included songs in different languages, such as Spanish, Hebrew, Zulu, and Swahili.

This marvelous event was emblematic of how far the music program has gone today and how much music education can accomplish in just one year. Next year, P.S. 277 hopes to start an orchestra program, which will give students another opportunity to further develop their music skills.

Your support has been instrumental in the success of P.S. 277’s music program and the success of all of our first-year partner schools. You have helped to expand the horizons of students, foster a deeper appreciation for music within the school, and bring together the community. Help us promote music education in inner-city schools by sharing this report with your friends and family. Let them know the impact their donation can have!

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