A Child’s Song (ACS) is partnering with Bal Swan on its Spring music education program with support from the Broomfield Community Foundation. While ACS has previously partnered with Bal Swan on music and movement programs to support its students’ social-emotional learning, the impact is growing. ACS instructor Kirsten Storms will engage all Bal Swan students in their classrooms by providing classes two days a week through the Spring semester.
Inclusivity is a top priority for both organizations, ensuring that children of all ability levels receive educational opportunities that support their individual development. Bal Swan strives to maintain its classrooms with 1/3 children with special needs and 2/3 children with typical needs, so programming will be tailored to ensure each child feels empowered by their music lesson.
ACS received a generous $5,000 grant from the Broomfield Community Foundation in support of the partnership. The Broomfield Community Foundation was established in 1993 to create an ongoing source of funds for local charitable organizations. It is a vehicle for community philanthropy that enables individuals of both modest and substantial means to help “build a community with heart.” For more information, please contact the Broomfield Community Foundation at 303-469-7208 or visit the website at www.broomfieldfoundation.org.
About Bel Swan Children’s Center
Bal Swan Children’s Center builds a social-emotional foundation and nurtures an inclusive learning community where each child and family grows and belongs!
There are four main cornerstones to the “Bal Swan Way” that have made it successful since 1963. They are inclusion, interdisciplinary teaming, individualized education, and love.
Bel Swan strives to maintain classrooms with 1/3 children with special needs and 2/3 children with typical needs. Bal Swan believes that children provide a synergy of learning within groups of varying abilities and ages.
The Benefits of Music Education
- Children who study music tend to have larger vocabularies and more advanced reading skills than their peers who do not participate in music lessons. (Arete Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.”)
- Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education. (Arte Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.”)
- A Stanford study shows that music engages areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating events in our memory. (Baker, Mitzi. “Music moves brain to pay attention, Stanford study finds.” Stanford Medicine.)
