- Teachers and volunteers came together in Appleton,
Wisconsin , to assemble 7,500music kits forstudents . - Students will be starting the school year virtually, and teachers wanted to make sure every student had the supplies to create music.
- Some students will receive a kit with an egg shaker, rhythm sticks, cup, and scarf, while others will get drums sticks and a bucket.
Stephanie Kapsa stepped into a gymnasium filled with 7,500 bright red bags and buckets in mid-September. Inside each drawstring bag was a collection of music items: an egg shaker, rhythm sticks, cup, and scarf.
The elementary music
Each of those bags would soon be in the hands of a student in the Appleton Area School District in Appleton, Wisconsin. When kindergarten through sixth-grade students head to their schools to pick up workbooks and textbooks for the year, they'll also grab a music kit.
Kapsa, along with a team of music teachers, spent the summer drafting a plan that would provide every student with an equitable music experience this year.
"Music can be so calming, almost like therapy for some of the students," Kapsa, the music teacher at Janet Berry
Finding the budget and putting together 7,500 kits was not an easy feat, the music teacher told Insider
The quick transition to virtual learning last spring was frustrating, Kapsa said. When schools shifted to online classes, teachers had to adapt their lessons and instruction felt impossible when students didn't have the same resources.
"We knew how we felt in the spring, feeling like we were on our heels," she said. "We didn't want that feeling again in the fall."
Over the summer, the district's music teachers planned for the upcoming year. In one meeting, someone had the idea of providing every student with their own set of music supplies. It felt like an achievable goal, and the teachers got to work.
Initially, the teachers planned to make the instruments. For example, they had planned to fill bottles with rice to create shakers. Then came the realization that they'd need to make 7,500 of each item.
"I didn't know we had that many kids when we first started," Kapsa laughed.
So Kapsa and other teachers reached out to local music vendors, worked with their superintendent, gathered volunteers to assemble kits, and secured $56,954 in funding.
Depending on the student's grade level, they'll receive a different music kit. Most include an egg shaker, scarf, rhythm sticks, cup, and boom whacker. The sixth-graders will receive buckets and drumsticks to practice rhythm and percussion skills.
If schools reopen for in-person instruction, students will bring their music kits to the classroom so teachers won't need to worry about sanitizing items between classes.
"It's so worth every bit of sweat and tears," Kapsa said. "They are so excited. That just makes everything all worth it."
The teachers' goal was to have an equitable music experience for all students
Kapsa is going into her 18th year of teaching elementary music
"There are some schools where the kids have access to private instruction, violins, and pianos, and then we have some kids who don't have access to any of that," she said. "So that was a really big piece, that we have equitable instruction and resources for everybody."
By providing each student with the same supplies, teachers across the district can use the same lesson plans and create a similar experience for students. Students will beat the cup with their rhythm stick and others will move their egg shaker in tempo.
Kapsa said that the music kits helped her gain excitement and confidence for the upcoming school year.
"We're used to being able to connect and see the fruits of our labor in front of us, but online it's harder to do that and assess students through the screen," she said. "The kits brought a little piece of that back."
The music kits spurred the art department and PE teachers to get involved
The kits won't only be used for music lessons.
When PE teachers learned that the kits included items like scarves, they decided to tailor lesson plans around some items in the music kits.
The items will guide students through both musical and physical activities this school year.
Additionally, the music teachers' efforts inspired the art department to create an art kit for students. So when students pick up their music kit, they'll receive an art kit, too.
The community came together to help build and distribute the kits
Early this month, about 50 volunteers visited the First English Lutheran Church's parking lot throughout the day. They were there to help assemble the music kits.
Kids, parents, teachers, and community members wore masks and socially distanced while placing all the items into a red drawstring bag. The church, along with two more community churches, finished assembling, counting, and distributing the kits to each school in the district.
Families will pick up the music and art kits when they visit the school for the rest of the year's supplies. Some families have already received their kits, and Kapsa said the feedback from families and students has been positive.
Although classes started on September 1, families are still picking up the kits from their school. The goal is to start lessons using the music kits by October 1, Kapsa said.
"The really cool thing is that you know that all of these kits were going to reach the hands of the kids in the district," Kapsa said. "Think of the happiness it's going to bring."
If you're a teacher, student, or parent who wants to share their story on what it's like to go back to school right now, get in touch at mhumphries@insider.com.
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