Tag: pilotyear

From service missions to fieldtrips of service

Posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Written by Arts Corps

A story from the MusicianCorps pilot year.

Before the pilot year began, the MusicianCorps Seattle Fellows worked with Tina LaPadula to write missions statements.  Tina LaPadula is Arts Corps’ Education Director and the MusicianCorps Team Lead, and led the MusicianCorps team through the pilot year.

Tina LaPadula, Arts Corps Education Director, with the MusicianCorps Seattle Team

In guiding the Fellows to write their mission statements, Tina sought to practically match the goals of each site to the goals and skills of the Fellows.

“That’s a creative challenge in this work,” LaPadula said. “Without the right intention and time paid to those intentions, the best ideas and the best dreams and hopes of a program or a school or community will not be met.”

LaPadula continued: “This year – taking ten years of Arts Corps learning of how to place the right person in the right spot and facilitate that relationship well – we took it further [with MusicianCorps] in that now we have teaching artists for a longer time in this community. How can we make a program that takes advantage of this person and their best skills and the need at this site? We’ve been more intentional so that expectations can be realistic and be met, so that everyone’s hopes and dreams can be aligned, and be both practical and idealistic.”

MusicianCorps Fellow Aaron Walker-Loud provides one example of the power of service missions matched to service sites. During the pilot year, Aaron worked with a cluster of schools and groups in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood: Washington Middle School, Leschi and Bailey Gatzert Elementary Schools, Garfield High School, and Seattle Music Partners.   Aaron grew up in the neighborhood where he worked during the pilot year, and attended many of the schools in his MusicianCorps placement.  Given his background, and after meeting with his site partners, Aaron created his MusicianCorps mission statement, as follows:

“Engage more low income youth and youth of color in district music programs, through a supportive pipeline of drumline classes after school, and in the school day workshops and ensembles at Washington Middle school and feeder Elementary schools. … Strengthen the collaboration among music specialists, musicians and service programs in Seattle’s Central District school cluster.”

(Read each Fellow’s mission statement here).

MusicianCorps Fellow Aaron Walker-Loud with students

Aaron’s mission directly influenced his MusicianCorps work, both within and outside of the classroom. One idea Aaron had was to take elementary students – many of whom had not yet played any instruments – on a fieldtrip to music programs at Washington Middle School, where many of them will attend.

A student's flashcard from the Leschi fieldtrip

The fieldtrip was a powerful exercise in collaborations, connections, and imagining possibilities. [Read more about the fieldtrip here]. Chaperoned by the MusicianCorps Team (Tina, Aaron and the other Fellows, and myself) and the team from Seattle Music Partners, students from Leschi Elementary Schools toured Washington Middle School’s music classes and interviewed the band and orchestra teachers and students. As chaperones, we each shared our own experiences with middle school and the arts. We also interviewed the students about their music background, and how the field trip influenced their wishes for middle school. Here are some responses:

“I think it helpful because on the first day (of middle school) I thought I would be scared, but I wasn’t. I can handle it and not be scared on the first day of school.”

“I don’t play an instrument but I plan to play an instrument, the drums. [The fieldtrip] helped me to see what it would be like, see kids their attitudes, how you can make friends.”

“It was helpful to see how the class works and to get the answers out of actual middle school students … for the future, to have the chance to get to feel the transitions from elementary music to middle school music. It was helpful to get a feel for middle school and to actually see what it feels like.”

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Nursery rhymes nurturing communities: Early Childhood Education at LIHI

Posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Written by Arts Corps

A story and interview from the MusicianCorps Seattle pilot year.

In winter 2010—part way through the pilot year—MusicianCorps Fellow Carla Moreno debuted a new class, Early Childhood Education. Up until that time, Carla had been working with (and continued to work with) youth, aged 9-14, at the Low Income Housing Institute, exposing students to world music, new instruments and songwriting. (Read Carla’s blog about her journey with the youth, who wrote a new song and performed at a senior center, Seattle Center and the Triple Door).

Carla Moreno leads young children and parents in engaging music activities.

The new class, Early Childhood Education, introduced Carla to a different population at the Low Income Housing Institute: parents and young children. Her weekly class included interactive music games, group singing, and exploration—activities which encouraged music appreciation at an early age, and family bonding through music and movement. When I visited Early Childhood Education, I found smiles on mothers, one father and children.

WATCH THE VIDEO of Carla Moreno’s Early Childhood Education class.

To me, these smiles were remarkable given the context of Carla’s work. Her MusicianCorps service site, Meadowbrook View Apartments, is part of the Low Income Housing Institute (or LIHI), an organization that develops and manages “housing for low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people in Washington State; advocates for just housing policies; and administers a range of supportive service programs.” Most families enter LIHI out of arduous situations, such as being homeless or indigent, or immigrating from war-torn countries.

As a MusicianCorps Fellow at Arts Corps, Carla had been charged with creating vibrant communities at LIHI through intergenerational and cross-cultural music exchanges, and performances that celebrate the diversity and cultures of all resident families.  Through her Early Childhood Education class, Carla did this by bridging the diverse families of Meadowbrook through engaging music and games, and teaching these families to bring that music into their homes. Carla approached this community, and her year of service as a MusicianCorps Fellow, with persistence, respect and love.

“Carla is very disciplined; she is very focused, she knows what she wants to do,” said Lynn DeMarco, Property Manager at Meadowbrook View Apartments. “She raised the bar and [the kids] came up and paid attention and had fun in class. She demands a lot—which I think is really important—she lets them know that they can do well but that they have to give a lot to get want they want.”

On the last day of the Early Childhood Education class, Diana Shomstein, our MusicianCorps Mentor, interviewed a parent who had been in the class. “Her children sing the songs at home, and Shana does especially,” Diana said.” “Her kids love it, especially being able to play the different instruments and hear the different sounds they make.”

I interviewed Carla to find out more about Early Childhood Education. Her answers follow.

JASMINE: How did the idea to form this class come about?

CARLA: The Early Childhood Music class was an idea I had at the beginning of the year, but we didn’t have enough children and parents were busy working during the day. A few months ago, a few families with toddlers, happened to move into the transitional units and the timing was perfect to start the class.

JASMINE: How have you chosen your lessons? What needs do they meet?

CARLA: The lessons are quite simple, yet complex. It’s all about play, exploration, and self discovery all done through a variety of music activities including, singing, listening, and movement. Similar to language, music must be nurtured from very young. Research shows that a child’s best music learning potential, or music aptitude, is from birth to age eight.

JASMINE: What have some challenges been?

CARLA: Attendance has always been a challenge. Many of these mothers not only work, but are attending school; therefore, this poses lots of scheduling conflicts. Consistency is important, but this is the reality of our community. We’ve had to learn to work through it.

JASMINE: What have some successes been?

CARLA: The kids AND parents are indeed learning and actively engaging in the music making process! Research was right!

JASMINE: How has teaching this class strengthened the LIHI community?

CARLA: I believe community is about relationships and that it starts at home with family. To see parents bond with their children is a testimony to the power of music in helping build those solid relationships that last a lifetime. I’ve already witnessed the parents bonding before and after class. It’s great to see them want to stick around and talk, joke around, and just be in a happy place!

JASMINE: What have you learned from your students and parents?

CARLA: I’ve learned that no matter what the situation may be or whatever background these families may come from, everyone deserves the chance to be a part of successful and loving community and have all the opportunities and offerings available to them just like any other community. I’ve also learned that they want to keep the Early Childhood Music program on going! Yeah!

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