Education Through Music
Education Through Music
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About this organization
Mission
Education Through Music (ETM) partners with under-resourced schools to provide music as a core subject for all children, and utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve achievement, motivation for school, and self-confidence. Education Through Music believes every child deserves access to high-quality music education, taught by qualified and well-trained music teachers. Music should support learning in other key areas, including math, science and language arts. Engaged parents and school communities are key to the success of students.
About
During the 2017-18 school year, Education Through Music (ETM) worked to support student learning and engagement, while building capacity among school and community members to sustain music programs in the long term. ETM used music to support the education of nearly 30,000 students through partnerships with 58 under-resourced New York City schools in all five boroughs of New York City. This included 14 new partnerships. ETM's programs provided students with comprehensive, skills-based, in-school music instruction, as well as with enrichment programs, such as band, orchestra, and chorus. Music teachers with ongoing training and mentoring; non-music teachers with professional development; principals with leadership and guidance; and parents and the broader community with opportunities to see their children's progress firsthand. ETM also helped bring quality music education to 15,000 additional children through advising a licensed affiliate organization in Los Angeles. General music instruction and enrichment students in ETM partner schools received between 33-45 in-school music classes during the school year. Instruction focused on general music, with teachers incorporating the use of singing and playing instruments, such as xylophones, hand percussion, and recorders in grades K-5 and guitars in grades 6-8. Middle school instruction also incorporated music technology. Instruction continued to follow ETM's grade-level music curriculum, which aligns with New York State and national arts standards and supports the Common Core. In addition to providing a foundation of knowledge and skills in music, music teachers employed integration strategies and collaborated with classroom teachers to reinforce cognitive skills that supported student learning in other subjects, such as English language arts, history, math, and science. Partner school students performed in winter concerts and spring concerts, showcasing their skills and talents to peers, parents, and their wider school communities. Groups of partner school students also performed at special events around their communities. Elective ensemble elective choral programs were offered at more than 30 partner schools, with more than 900 students participating, and band and orchestra programs were offered at 29 schools to engage nearly 1,700 students. Several ETM partner schools created additional groups, including chamber orchestra, Orff instrument ensemble, jazz band, and percussion ensembles. Elective ensembles encourage students to strengthen their musical proficiency and performance abilities. Training and professional development ETM provided training and professional development to music teachers, teachers of other disciplines, and principals. ETM delivered over 100 hours of ongoing training and professional development to music teachers (both those employed by ETM and those who have been hired by partner schools). Eight days of intensive workshops before the start of the school year strengthened music teachers' knowledge of pedagogy and music methodologies and addressed ETM's curriculum and approach to integration. Workshop topics included classroom structure and management, lesson and unit planning, rubric and assessments, incorporating technology into instructions, and rehearsal strategies. Guest facilitators were brought in to offer expertise on areas including engaging students with special needs, and diversity in schools. Additional sessions were held from September through June. At the start of the school year, each music teacher was assigned an ETM mentor who provided ongoing mentoring and one-on-one guidance through site visits and observations. ETM program staff provided professional development to the non-music classroom teachers at partner schools. Sessions demonstrated how higher-level thinking skills are developed in the music classroom. By introducing teachers to integration methods and collaboration techniques, we encouraged them to communicate with music teachers to help them support student learning. Principals received one-on-one guidance on program management, assessment, budget planning, and identifying funding resources. ETM provided ongoing support to, and maintained communication with, principals during the school year to promote buy-in for music programs. Building capacity to sustain programs each partner school provided some level of financial support for their music programs. Of 43 continuing partner schools, six hired their music teachers to school staff in September 2017, making the music teacher salary a part of the school budget, and 14 increased their direct financial commitment to ETM from 2016-17 to 2017-18. This is in line with our long-term goal of helping schools build music education into their budgets over time. By hiring music teachers to staff, principals demonstrate their commitment to ensuring music instruction continues beyond a partnership with ETM. Student success teachers have shared stories of how the music program impacts individual students, including Michael. (His name has been changed to protect privacy.) For Michael, a student at a first year partner school in the Bronx in 2017-18, adjusting to first grade was difficult. He was living in a homeless shelter and lacked the stable support of a home life many of his peers have. Michael also faced daily obstacles in the classroom as a child with autism. He rarely spoke in class, and did not absorb information as easily as his peers. When Michael started taking his general music classes, he unlocked a talent he didn't know existed. He started participating, both in music and in his other classes. Music provided Michael with a new level of engagement, and his other classroom teachers began to notice his newfound passion and focus. When Michael's music class started learning rhythm and tempo, he was the first student to master one of the difficult rhythms. This moment of understanding a concept and being the first student in his class to do so provided a major confidence boost. Through music classes, Michael is growing into a confident, engaged student. Evaluation ETM program staff members conducted regular site visits to each school and music teacher; observed and evaluated music teachers using a rubric to rate planning and preparation, classroom environment, integration, and instruction; and discussed observations and offered suggestions for improvement. Each music teacher was also formally evaluated. ETM maintained ongoing communication with principals and music teachers. ETM had hired a new director of evaluation in July 2017, who began implementing a new evaluation plan in 2017-18, representing year one of a multi-year approach to strengthening the basis of ETM's approach and validating evaluation tools before continuing on to measure other outcomes of interest to our staff, partner schools, board, and supporters. In 2017-18, ETM's evaluation efforts sought to measure, via fall and spring data collection, changes in students' sense of competence, autonomy, and relatedness for learning and engaging in music. Education research has established these as the 'active ingredients' involved in developing internalized motivation, which has been found to predict persistence in learning despite challenges, greater achievement, and greater spillover effects into non-musical domains such as school engagement and social-emotional development. Findings from data collection demonstrate ETM is expanding music education for students least likely to have access; sparking students' passion for music; providing professional development and mentoring activities that help music teachers be effective and avoid burnout; and helping build vibrant school communities. Highlights include 40% of students at new ETM partner schools reported that they had never had a general music class prior to the current school year, 83% of students at partner schools reported that they love singing or playing instruments, 80% of music teachers agreed that ETM has helped them become part of a community of peer teachers, 96% of music teachers agreed that their mentor was timely and responsive to their needs, 88% of partner school principals rate ETM as 'above average or 'excellent' at integrating the music program into their school culture. Beyond our partner schools beyond core New York City activities, we continued to advise ETM-LA, an organization licensed since 2006 to replicate our full partner school model in the Los Angeles area. ETM staff participated in conferences including NAFME and the New York State School Music Association, these activities help build ETM's visibility and presence in the arts education community, which supports future teacher recruitment; in addition, program staff members can stay up-to-date with music education developments and best practices, which enables ETM to continue to enhance our model.
Interesting data from their 2019 990 filing
From their filing, the objective of the non-profit is stated as “Education through music was formed to promote the use of music in the core curricula of under-resourced schools, as a means of enhancing students' achievement and development. during 2017-18, etm's partner school program provided comprehensive, transformative music instruction to 30,000 children in new york city, and etm assisted other organizations in improving their own activities.”.
When talking about its functions, they were outlined as: “Etm partners with under-resourced schools to provide music (continues on schedule "o") as a core subject for all children, and utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school and self-confidence.”.
- The legally reported state of operation for the non-profit is NY.
- According to the filing, the non-profit's address in 2019 is 122 EAST 42ND STREET NO 1501, NEW YORK, NY, 101681503.
- The non-profit organization as of 2019 has a total of 127 employees reported on their form.
- Is not a private foundation.
- Expenses are greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue is greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue less expenses is -$217,976.
- The organization has 24 independent voting members.
- The organization was formed in 1991.
- The organization pays $4,230,457 in salary, compensation, and benefits to its employees.
- The organization pays $517,922 in fundraising expenses.
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