CYSO has always believed that a quality music education should be open to any child with aptitude and ability. Our Outreach Program provides string instruction to students of under-represented communities. These students become passionate about music and learn to achieve excellence through the challenge of learning to play the violin. They learn to accomplish personal and group goals through discipline, teamwork, and creativity. As a result, these young people develop lofty aspirations and appreciate working hard to reach their goals. The excitement, enjoyment and pride of these musicians can be seen in every one of their performances.
CYSO is proud to offer free music instruction, twice a week to students in underserved communities in Denver and Aurora Public Schools. Our Outreach Program currently serves the following six schools: Godsman Elementary, Teller Elementary, Ashley Elementary, Kenton Elementary, Lansing Elementary, and Stedman Elementary. Each school is financially challenged and would not be able to afford this type of music education without this program. For example, Godsman Elementary is at 82.72% capacity serving 502 students of which 90% are Latino. Of that number 77.76% qualify for free or reduced lunch. Currently there are 19 Godsman students participating in CYSO’s Music Outreach Program.
Here are some alarming statistics regarding the communities we serve: There are 76 neighborhoods in Denver, of that number 22 are categorized as “poor or at-risk” with a percentage of the residents living in poverty. 80% of the students in DPS are students of color, many living in underserved communities. We believe that music is an intrinsic element of the human spirit, and for many of the children in the Outreach program, CYSO provides their first experience of playing an instrument. There is a shortage of music programs in the public schools, and students in underserved communities are unable to pay for lessons privately. At CYSO, we have observed first hand the impact that music education and the opportunity to perform has on young children in the outreach program.
Our music outreach program has expanded this year to include Stedman Elementary, which increases the number of participating public schools to six, and we will continue our efforts to offer opportunities to students in underserved communities. We continue to integrate the Outreach program with our Newman Center Program. Another objective is to maintain enrollment in the Newman Center at 150 students, while expanding the scholarship program to provide assistance to students facing financial challenges. It is our desire to offer private lessons to support the Outreach program and tuition scholarships to attract outstanding musicians considering a professional career. As part of our strategic plan, we hope to include four additional public schools as part of our music outreach program by the year 2012. We have also expanded the Newman Center program and we now offer Music Theory classes which began in the fall of 2008.
The CYSO is always searching for additional funding to help support this important community
program. We accept both monetary and instrument donations. Please contact the CYSO for more information at (303) 573-5152 or "cysomichelle@yahoo.com".
Outreach Program
