Laying A Musical Foundation for Thousands of “Tiny Trentonians”
At the end of the 20th century the landmark Abbott v. Burke rulings mandated free preschool in New Jersey’s under- resourced public schools (long before the same rulings were more famously reflected in New York City). The district was seeking a partner to provide excellent early-childhood music and movement, and we (then named Trenton Community Music School) were ready. Our extraordinary program founder Ronnie Ragen, with research partners from Music Together (then named the Center for Music and Young Children), created Music for the Very Young: Music, Movement and Literacy, with the support of a federal research grant, and then later on with key support from the Princeton Area Community Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Since 2000, we have partnered with nearly every one of Trenton’s public preschools to provide music class, mentor classroom teachers in the everyday integration of music and movement, and gather families to encourage the fun of making music as multiple generations. We have worked with the City’s Office on Aging to bring pre-K children to senior centers for weekly intergenerational classes, with the Ewing Township Public Schools to provide an adaptive program for its special education preschool classes, and with the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf for classes for its children with multi-model disabilities. Music is thriving in the classrooms that serve Trenton’s youngest. In September and early October MVY began programming in CYO South Broad, Carolyn Stokes, Katzenbach School for the Deaf, and all Ewing preschool classrooms. In mid-November, MVY teaching Assistants, Ellen Acuna and Joyce Kay, along with Kelsey Swanson, led a Music Together workshop for all Ewing pre-K teachers. The session was titled Music and Language and focused on how music and movement can support language development, particularly in children with special needs.
CAPITAL HARMONY WORKS | ANNUAL REPORT 2022-23
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