Education Through Music, Inc.

Program: New York City Partner School Program

Program Description:

ETM forms long-term partnerships with inner-city elementary, middle and K-8 schools that lack sufficient resources for school-wide music education. We work with each principal to design an individualized program for each partner school with the following goals:

* Support student learning in the arts and other academic areas.
* Build capacity among school and community members to sustain programs.

To accomplish these goals, ETM’s activities focus on:

1) Music instruction for every child, that:
* Follows a skills-based, comprehensive and sequential curriculum, and
* Supports cognitive thinking skills and content in other academic areas.
(Weekly, yearlong instruction for K-5 and K-8 school student; daily instruction for one marking period for middle school students.)

2) Ongoing, customized professional development services including:
* Training and mentoring for music teachers,
* Professional development for academic teachers, and
* Management guidance and leadership training for principals.

3) Ongoing assessment and evaluation.

4) Outreach to parents and community.

In 2011-12, this program serves 13,000 at-risk children through partnerships with 25 New York City schools.

Program Long-Term Success:

ETM believes that:

* All children benefit from having music as part of their regular studies.
* Children benefit most when their music education features the same rigor as other academic subjects, specifically: high-quality teaching and professionalism among music faculty; strong leadership; a comprehensive and sequential curriculum; and accountability for student learning outcome.
* School leaders and communities who are aware of the value of music education to their children will find a way to implement and institutionalize a well-balanced curriculum that includes music for all children.

We strive for the day when all schools will employ music teachers so that every student in the nation will receive comprehensive music instruction, when those music teachers will be supported with relevant professional development to help them grow as educators and to support student development in multiple areas, and when every community will value music education as a necessary part of educating the whole child.

Program Short-Term Success:

ETM's programs seek to achieve improvements in:
* Student performance in music and in academics, as well as self-esteem and motivation for school.
* Music teachers’ abilities to educate children.
* Music and classroom teachers’ abilities to collaborate and plan effective integration.
* Community and school support for the arts, especially as evidenced by steps taken towards building capacity to sustain programs.

Program Success Monitored by:

ETM documents outcomes by conducting annual music skills assessments of students to measure progress against our curriculum benchmarks; twice-yearly surveys of classroom teachers; annual surveys of music teachers, principals, parents and students; monthly observations of music teachers using a detailed rubric; evaluation forms of training and professional development; and by collecting lesson plan and work sample materials and maintaining ongoing communication with all constituents.

Our assessment tools were enhanced during 2005-08 in collaboration with an external evaluator, LS Associates, as part of a multi-year program evaluation funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Program Success Examples:

Findings from an external evaluation during 2005-08 were published in April 2009, and include:
* During each year, students showed significant improvement in musical skills.
* Evidence suggests improved test performance in Math and English Language Arts is associated with ETM program participation.
* ETM Music Teachers are highly rated by principals and classroom teachers.
* Relationships between ETM and partner school staff are mutually supportive and effective in creating true partnerships. The support and involvement of school leadership is a key aspect of the program’s success.
* Examples of collaboration and integration occurred on a more frequent and in-depth basis with each succeeding year.
* Over time, the number of academic teachers in ETM partner schools who reported using music and the other arts to enrich their classroom instruction increased.
* Principal and teacher evaluations of ETM professional development offerings remained consistently strong. Over the three years, teachers reported high levels of agreement that facilitators were effective, that there was an open atmosphere for learning and discussion, and that the workshops accomplished their objectives.