Issue link: http://saihq.uberflip.com/i/1045847
PAN PIPES Fall 2018 19 MUSIC EDUCATION T he members of the Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota have long recognized the critical impact that music can make in the classroom. Our chapter is involved in educational initiatives through our members' teaching careers, performance work, and volunteer work, and also through our funding of local scholarships for area students. is year, the Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter is pleased to be a supporter of a recently developed Fort Wayne- area program that enhances elementary students' learning through use of the vocal arts. is program was developed, and is being integrated, by Heartland Sings. Heartland Sings is a non-profit vocal arts company, founded in 1997 and based in Fort Wayne. As stated on their website (www. heartlandsings.org), "For nearly two decades, Heartland Sings has been changing the lives of participants and patrons through song. Heartland entertains and enriches audiences within a 225- mile radius of Fort Wayne with the purpose of serving as a professional, educational resource for the vocal arts, cultivating a community of artistic and cultural appreciation, and providing performance opportunities to area vocalists and musicians." Heartland Sings currently has an educational program called the Arts Integrated Residency (AIR). According to Lindsay Platt, FWAC member and Associate Director of Development and Education at Heartland Sings, "AIR is a year-long program that uses the arts as a medium to teach state-mandated curricular standards of language arts, social studies, math, and science." Ms. Platt presented information about the Arts Integrated Residency to the Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter at our May 2018 meeting. During the 2017-2018 school year, Heartland's AIR program operated in two local schools, in two different districts. Six first grade classrooms received instruction. e Arts Integrated Residency program used opera as the medium for teaching and learning in Southwick Elementary School and Adams Elementary School. According to the East Allen County Schools website (https://www.eacs.k12. in.us) and the Fort Wayne Community Schools website (https://www.fortwayneschools. org), both schools have a school wide poverty rate of greater than 40%. 87% of students in these districts receive free or reduced lunch. Data from Indiana Department of Education (June 2017), Heartland Sings provided by Ms. Platt, shows that the average student population in these schools is 28.45% Black, 26.1% Asian, 24.15% Hispanic, 8.3% Multi-racial, 12.9% White, and .2% American Indian. At our chapter meeting, Ms. Platt spoke of the high number of students at these schools who receive English Language Learners services, and the unique role that opera can play in reaching them. rough the Arts Integrated Residency program, students worked with three vocal artists from Heartland Sings. ese artists joined the first graders two times per week for the entire school year. Each session was thirty minutes long During the Fall Semester, their focus was on Language Arts Standards. To accomplish the goals of AIR and the schools, Heartland Sings worked with the first grade teachers to generate lesson plans which helped students to expand their vocabulary and better understand literary elements. ese elements included story setting, plot, and order of events. Emphasis was also placed on teaching students to identify important details in a story, to make predictions about upcoming story events, and to analyze characters. e spring semester was a time for students to use what they learned in the fall and create an original opera, with some influence from popular songs. is planning process built teamwork, taught cooperation, facilitated good communication, improved problem solving skills, and increased individual perseverance. It culminated with performances for the families and community. One of the leading benefits of the Arts Integrated Residency program, according to Ms. Platt, is that the students gain a deeper understanding of presented information. is more complete understanding then leads to increased student achievement and retention. Students also finish the program with a better knowledge of art forms that are rarely taught in underserved schools. Students learn to take risks and be creative. In addition, students gain confidence by creating and performing an original work. Others members of the Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter who are involved with Heartland Sings include Janice Furtner (Director of Communications), Dorothy Kittaka (Member of the Board of Directors), and Sara Davis (member of the Education Committee and former member of the Board of Directors). Heartland Sings is planning to expand to more first grade classes in the 2018-2019 year, and hopes to incorporate other elementary grades and utilize other art mediums. e program costs about $300-400 per student, per year. If you are interested in the Arts Integrated Residency program, Program Director Stephanie Carlson can be reached at stephanie@heartlandsings.org. — Submitted by Jennifer Newton, Editor, Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter