MUSIC IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE!
 
 The joy of music is universal, one of the most basic and important of all human expressions.   Every day social scientists and educators are quantifying the importance of music as a core subject, a “meta-subject” that helps develop critical learning skills.  Expanding musical intelligence can increase cognitive and language skills, build self-esteem, team work, cultural awareness and even science lessons.  Researchers have also determined that the sooner a child is exposed to qualified music education, the better the results.  In response, the Lasiewicz Foundation launched Crossroads of Music, whose mission is to advocate and expand Early Childhood Music Education. 
 
 
EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY, A SONG TO SING.
 
This project has a multi-layered vision, to increase the amount of resources, instruments and trained teachers who can recover the decades of lost ground in California schools.  We will begin with after-school programs and a web-based resource center.  We intend to expand our influence to school districts and curriculum planners across the state.   Our goal is a society that is fully educated on the powerful benefits of Early Childhood Music Education.  We will look for ways to encourage today’s parents, local organizations and public institutions to work together on meeting their own regional early childhood music needs.  Our pilot program, for example, was funded in part through a grant from the Whittier Cultural Arts Foundation.  Additional funding was raised by the parents through the Orange Grove English Language Advisory Council (ELAC) and the PTA.  This formula of public and private partnership will be a defining feature of Crossroads of Music as we move beyond the pilot program.
 
 
OUR PILOT PROGRAM -- TEACHING THE TEACHERS.
 
In April 2005,  we launched an after-school music program for Orange Grove Elementary in Whittier, CA.  The program offers weekly classes for students from kindergarten to fifth- grade.  Our custom curriculum is based on the principles of Orff-Shulwerk, a world-renowned system of early childhood music education.  Our Master Teachers are the anchor in the classroom and they are assisted by college interns.  For the Whittier pilot program, our interns were all students at the Child Development Center (CDC) at Glendale Community College. During this project, our interns have gained invaluable experience teaching music to children under the guidance of certified Arts Educators.