From: Malcolm Mitchell and Don Roberts

Re: Midyear status report on our class project

Now, six months from our last report, seems like a good time to report on recent project developments and on next steps.

The idea for a project, you’ll recall, was hatched at our 40^th reunion as a response to the desire to ‘give something back’ to the community. After due deliberation we narrowed ‘give something back’ to the challenge of improving music education in public schools. Among the considerations in this decision were the importance of music at Yale and that classmates nationwide could participate. Our goal, quite simply, is to make a difference in public school music education. Not only do we think this can help the academic performance of students but we think, as Johannes Somary told us at the class dinner in March, they should experience the beauty of music.

Participants. The January, 2000 letter to all classmates generated many responses; lots of classmates asked to be added as participants – Sam Chauncey, Tom Chittenden, Merrell Clark, Bob Conkey, Hank Conlan, Don Goodman, Stephen Jackson, Allan Kaplan, George Lee, Charles Marks, Dave Mininberg, Phil Richards, Pete Smith and Rob Walker.

More good news. Frederica von Stade, Doctor of Music, Yale 1985 (Hon.), the international opera star, has agreed to join our efforts as Honorary Participant. Those of you at our meeting in March met Ms. von Stade and heard of her efforts to enhance music education in San Francisco bay area schools. We are delighted to have her helping us!

• First, we want to gather serious research that establishes links between music education in K-12 schools and the well being of young people, both academic and emotional.
  
  Steve Hopkins has spearheaded this effort. There are several not-for-profit organizations with missions that include expanding arts education for youth. We have met with each of them. Steve also found a recently released report that surveyed over 25,000 students in American secondary schools over a ten year period. This comprehensive report concluded: there are positive academic developments for children engaged in the arts, and middle/high school students involved with instrumental music show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.
  
  At this time we think we know who most of the authorities are in the field that interests us and soon we will know most, if not all, of the relevant research. The attached from a recent Time magazine is good background. The sidebar piece shows we have good company in our efforts. That’s great because there is plenty to do.
  
  
• The second project area is to collect anecdotes and studies of music programs that are benefiting young people and schools. An important part of this work will be interviews we will ask you to conduct at your local school or with your school district. To help get consistent information from you we have completed a questionnaire that was vetted at class meetings in January and March. We will send the questionnaire, along with additional background information, to you after Labor Day so that you can schedule interviews soon after school starts. We will be looking for successful music programs as well as troubled ones, with the expectation that what we learn from the good ones can be applied to improve the others.
  
  
• Third, we hope to work with the Yale School of Music in its effort to enhance music education in the City of New Haven school system. This is work we plan to start on this Summer. Lessons learned in New Haven can also benefit other school systems.

Our original goal was to complete the project in time for our 50^th reunion and with our progress so far we will have lots to report on at our 45^th reunion.

We are thrilled to report that our class website, which Jim Ziegler created, see:
http://alumninet.yale.edu/classes/yc1957
now has a home page on the class project. Our thanks to Phil Richards for this addition, see:
http://www.musicinschools.org.
Linked to the project home page are or will be: the January 2000 project description sent to all classmates; a copy of this status report; a copy of the research report mentioned above; and the questionnaire.

Let’s us know if you have questions. In the meantime have a good summer; we will be back to you in the fall.

July 13, 2000

Re: Late addition to our mid year status report on the class project

On the heels of our July status report to you comes a Newsweek article similar to the Time piece enclosed with last week’s report. More than the Time story though Newsweek focuses on the benefits of music to the young. We thought you should see it.