Did you know Music Together® has a curriculum for childcare centers, preschools, and other early learning communities? Students at one of the longest-running in-school programs, the Montessori Preschool at San Tan Charter School in Gilbert, Arizona, have been singing “Hello, everybody!” since 2006!
We recently sat down with San Tan Chief Customer Officer/Assistant Superintendent Rita Sippel and Preschool Director Kami Kerby to talk about their experience with Music Together over the past 19 years. Read on to hear about their deep commitment to the importance of music at their school—and how the Music Together In School curriculum has made a difference to their community.
Choosing Music Together for San Tan Montessori
Rita Sippel says it was “the variety, fun, and intelligence” of Music Together that drew her in as a parent attending classes with her then one-year-old son. Shortly after, Rita took the Music Together Teacher Training, and learned about Music Together’s new curriculum offering for schools. She recognized right away that while the repertoire was fun, its cultural richness, variety, and depth went well beyond just being “happy music.” She knew that Music Together In School was an amazing match with the new private preschool and kindergarten she and her husband were opening. Now, nearly twenty years later, San Tan Montessori Preschool is still using the Music Together program to make musical memories in the classroom. It has become so integrated into the school that Rita says, “We have a music-making culture here.”
Getting the teachers on board
The teachers at the school truly embrace the Music Together curriculum and use the music every day in their classrooms—and that’s by design. Teachers at San Tan are given the tools offered by Music Together and an understanding of how to use those tools to support both the music program and the work they do in the classroom as a whole. Rita and preschool music specialist Kami Kerby lead a yearly training for teachers, with a large portion dedicated to how best to implement Music Together day-to-day. In these trainings, they share how so many elements of the Music Together curriculum deeply support the Montessori philosophy and approach to education used at the school.
Getting the families on board
Of course, like all Music Together classes, parent and caregiver involvement is a big part of the story. San Tan has been intentional about engaging families in the Music Together curriculum, because they share Music Together’s conviction that such involvement is essential to children’s musical growth. Time is spent educating each parent about why the music program is such an important part of the education at the school, and about what makes Music Together unique.
The home-school connection
To Rita and Kami, one of the most valuable parts of the program for families is the easy access to the music through the Music Together app and the support on using the music at home through the family songbook. To reinforce this, once a month in the San Tan weekly family newsletter, attention is drawn to “focus songs.” These are the songs the children have been singing in school, and are the songs their parents are likely to hear them singing at home. Kami says that highlighting these songs “ups the odds for the parents’ involvement in the best way.”
The school also holds a family music gathering twice a year. In preparation for these events, classroom teachers have the children make crafts (handmade drums, etc.) to send home with an invitation to the event. According to Kami, this has a positive impact on attendance and helps the parents see that their involvement in the music program is a priority for the school.
Then, at the end of the school year, music is incorporated into graduation. Each year, the graduating preschoolers sing, “May All Children.” The postgraduates in the audience always start singing along, and everyone gets to see “the power of music at work,” as Kami shares.
Rita says, “Our commitment to Music Together is because we have seen the program enrich and benefit both the families we serve and our teachers.” Kami describes seeing families over the years use music to strengthen their bonds and connection with their children. “I see all these beautiful moments. These songs becoming new family heirlooms. That is such a gift.” San Tan Montessori Preschool strives to build relationships in the classrooms based on respect, understanding, and a love of learning. This goal is central to the Montessori philosophy and that of Music Together. The approach of engaging children through experimentation and exploration; carefully thought-out lesson plans; and the deep, varied (and fun!) music all work together to create what Rita proudly calls, “a culture of music” which supports the overall culture of the school. Rita and her husband recognized the strengths of the Music Together In School curriculum right away, and nearly twenty years later, it’s an integral part of their school. The profound impact that Music Together has had on San Tan can be an inspiration to early learning communities everywhere.