Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2024 7 SAI Philanries, Inc. By Jatona Chester T itle I is a federally funded education program that supports low income students throughout the nation. Funds are distributed to high poverty schools, as determined by the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. e funds can be used to hire additional teachers or teaching assistants, to provide computers or soware, to fund before, aer and summer school programs, and to purchase additional materials or equipment. e specifics of fund allocation vary from state to state. My Experience My Experience My entire 15 years of teaching has been spent in Title I Funded schools. While my experience varies in some aspects, some things remain the same across the board. Creating and maintaining a high quality music program at a Title I school is not impossible. Challenging, but not impossible. is is not to say that music programs in other socioeconomic areas do not have issues, but there are common hurdles that hinder program growth in many Title I Schools. e two main things I have tackled head on at every school I have had the opportunity to teach at is obtaining funding and building relationships. Even the most resourceful music educator needs some type of funding to run a successful program. In addition to funding, a thriving music program can not function without a compassionate, flexible, understanding educator to lead it. Especially in high need buildings like Title I funded schools. Funding Funding Title I funding is allocated for very specific academic purposes and most families don't have extra income to contribute to fine arts or music programming. Some districts provide a small budget for Fine Arts programs and some don't provide anything at all. I have found that fundraising, utilizing community partners, and applying for grants are a great help, especially for special projects. Obtaining outside funding like the Music Education Outreach grant from SAI Philanthropies, Inc. can help remove financial barriers for music programs and more specifically, students and their families. Limiting financial responsibility opens the door for more student participation and retainment. Reducing the stress of funding gives the educator more time to focus on what is most important, students! Building Relationships Building Relationships ere are many myths and misconceptions about Title I students and their families. Assumptions are made that most students at Title I schools don't care about their education let alone an education in music and that parents/ families are not supportive or involved. From my personal experience I have found this to be far from the truth. While many students of all types of socioeconomic backgrounds experience hardships, Title I students deal with so many uncontrolled issues that can hinder the learning process. Homelessness, overcrowded homes, lack of transportation, domestic instability, just to name a few. So you can imagine that an ensemble rehearsal would be difficult sometimes with so many stresses on a child's young shoulders. In order for a student to learn effectively, their emotional needs have to be met first. I have found that building trust and relationships is extremely important in Title I buildings, not just with students, but families as well. When trust has been established, students are more likely to push through their struggles and "show up" for their music program (and teacher). When trust is established, relationships with parents and families are developed. Families make sacrifices to help with their child's music program, doing things like purchasing food, offering rides, and helping with fundraising. Yes, funding is important, but even the most enormous budget or grant is useless if your students don't believe that you care about them and don't just see them as a number in your ensemble or a name on your class roster. roughout my career I have had students who ONLY heard positive things about themselves and received encouragement from their teachers at school. For many Title I students, school is their "safe space." In some students' cases their music program is their only motivation to come and stay in school. Conclusion Conclusion Music programming in Title I schools provide an opportunity for students to feel the rush of accomplishment. At the core, Title I students and music programs are not so different from schools with quality funding. ey are all blank slates with the potential to create rich experiences. It might require some extra time and innovative effort, but it's well worth it for all involved at the end. My Experience as a Music Educator in Title I Schools People-to-People reached out to to SAI Jatona Chester, a Kappa Rho initiate and Ann Arbor Alumnae Chapter member, for input on the Title I project and for knowledge on being a Title I music teacher. Jatona is a 2022 recipient of the Music Education Outreach Grant and has fieen years of experience working in Title I schools.

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