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School of Music at First Family Academy
Beginning this fall, First Family Academy, in cooperation with Kansas City School of Music, will launch a music education program whose quality and comprehensive curriculum will be unsurpassed by any other elementary school in America. The goal for our music department is to have teachers, curriculum, instruments, equipment, materials, facilities, and philosophy which are not just average, not just good, and not even just excellent – but the best anywhere in the world. We want to be the Juilliard of elementary schools – the crème de la crème of music education.
To begin this pursuit of musical excellence, we will provide the following to every student for the 2008-2009 school year:
- Small group piano/music theory instruction two times per week
- Small group violin instruction two times per week
- Small and large group voice/choir instruction two times per week
- Musikgarten classes for Pre-K (integrated with voice instruction)
- High quality instruments provided by First Family Academy/Kansas City School of Music (in-school use only)
Comparison of First Family Academy’s music program to other elementary schools:
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Most elementary schools |
First Family Academy |
Time: |
One or two times per week for 20-30 minutes per class |
Two to three hours per week (depending on age/grade) |
Curriculum: |
General music class |
Piano/music theory instruction, violin instruction, and voice/choir instruction, Musikgarten instruction |
Teacher qualifications: |
Typically, a bachelor’s degree in general music/music education |
Specialized bachelor’s degree and extensive graduate education (piano performance/ pedagogy, violin performance/pedagogy, or voice performance/pedagogy). Teachers are also advanced musicians/performers, which is almost never the case for elementary music teachers. |
Teacher/Student ratio: |
Usually, 20:1 or greater |
Most instruction will be given in small group classes which will usually be about 6:1. |
Instruments: |
Some rhythm instruments and in some cases, small keyboards for occasional use |
High quality Yamaha 88-key, fully weighted digital pianos, high quality violins, and high quality rhythm instruments |
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