My Students

Everyone knows middle school kids brim with energy. These kids are told they need to "stay focused" and "stay put" through difficult and intense lessons each day. The antidote? Imagine an opportunity to harness that energy in the most creative way; at our school, a ROCK BAND is exactly what we need.

My students have an inspiring story: Despite the facts that my students are "economically disadvantaged," and have diverse language and learning needs of all kinds these 6-8 graders show up to school each day and rise to the challenge of sitting in a difficult and demanding educational setting, all without a break (other than the occasional period of gym.) If there is one thing I have learned from my students, it's that every one of them has hidden qualities and strengths.

Unfortunately, the typical middle school offers little opportunity to express these hidden talents and strengths. The most astounding strength I see in my students is their untapped creativity. My students jump at any opportunity to create with music and art, but there isn't enough time in the day to address these needs. Our school does not charge these students to take part in some of our great after school programs, so there is little to no funding available to offer what they really need: a real creative out

My Project

At my school there many students that are dying to start their own bands, but are unable to do so without proper equipment. In order to offer a space for kids to explore their creative side by creating their own bands and performing original music, we need several pieces of essential equipment. Students will use guitars, basses, and amps to begin constructing their bands and writing original music, with the help of an experienced staff. The guitar straps, picks, cables, tuners, effects pedal, and a music stand will give us everything we need to get started. With the equipment requested we hope to give these kids a kickstart in their creative lives in an authentic way. We hope to offer these kids a chance to play in the world's biggest performance space, NYC. Students will learn to set goals and work toward meeting them, an essential skillset for adolescents, all while doing it in a context that is incredibly meaningful to them. The materials requested are the key to that process.

The donations to this project will positively effect my students on many levels.

My students will have the opportunity to write their own music using state-of-the-art equipment. This is an opportunity that will give them something to be personally excited about at school while learning to work hard to achieve meaningful goals. Every donation to this project will transform my student's experience of middle school in a positive and empowering way.