four pillars

THE PROBLEM:

Inequity in Education

Music education is not available to five million American children, most of whom hail from low Socio-Economic Status backgrounds.¹

The U.S. spends $2,600 less per capita on students identifying as Black, Indigenous or Person of Color vs White students,¹ a difference seen in the absence of music and other growth opportunities in majority BIPOC schools.

Consequently, students identifying as BIPOC or low SES have greatly reduced access to the well-documented academic, social and emotional benefits of in-school music education.

References

1. MENC Journal of Research in Music Education, 2011

THE solution:

Our Four Pillars of Service Model Engages Students, Teachers, Schools, and Their Communities

A proven method and a helping hand

Lead Guitar has assembled an international team of Teaching Artists: global concert musicians, Fulbright Scholars and professors with a passion for mentorship. They collaborate with certified K-12 teachers to co-teach in-school guitar ensemble classes using Lead Guitar’s proprietary curriculum and Lead Guitar Digital: a library of instructional videos, lesson plans, and extension activities accessible from any device.

No prior guitar experience? No problem!

Our Teachers’ Workshops offer K-12 teachers formal PD towards promotion and recertification as they master the Lead Guitar curriculum and improve their own playing.

Connecting students to the stars

Global touring guitarists perform for, dialogue with, and inspire students in person, right at their own school, while our interactive We Are Guitar broadcast (in partnership with Guitar Salon International) provides an online forum for students nation wide to learn from, interview, and perform with guitar celebrities.

Come together and shine

Middle and High school students perform and are celebrated in front of family and friends at annual Showcase Concerts at their local college campus. Our elementary school families come together at school to perform, celebrate and share food in an atmosphere that supports community building.

The Outputs:

Who We’re Reaching This Year

87% identify

as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color.

86% of Lead Guitar students

qualify for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch.

400 participants

are accessing in-school music learning for the first time through Lead Guitar’s Adaptive and Spanish Language curricula.

40-50,000 additional students

are connecting with global touring artists through in-school concerts and our interactive We Are Guitar broadcast

More than 7,500 students

in 94 schools across four U.S. time zones with direct, daily-to-twice-weekly in-school music classes

The Outcomes:

Empowered Students, Teachers, and Schools

For Students

As many as 80% of Lead Guitar students improved their cumulative GPA after two years of participation.³

Lead Guitar students identified as in danger of drop out or expulsion reduced absences by 52% and days in detention by 45% during their first year of participation.³

They are also 17% more likely to graduate from high school than their peers who do not participate in music.⁴

And 50% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to other students identified as Low SES who do not participate in school music programs.³

For teachers

Teachers and Aides rate LG Adaptive 4.75 out of 5 for improving focus and behavior among participants.³

Teachers also give LG 4.72 out of 5 for increasing their value to their school and job security.⁶

For schools

LG leverages an average annual increase of $5,433 in music education spending from partner schools.⁷

In-depth/long-term learning opportunities are created with 78% of school partnerships lasting five years or longer.⁸

167% increase in music participation at LG partner schools.²

References

2. Lead Guitar Enrollment and School Program Survey, 2016
3. Lead Guitar: Report on Whole Child Outcomes; Dr. J. David Betts, 2019
4. Children's Music Workshop
5. Americans for the Arts
6. Lead Guitar Teacher Workshop Survey, 2016
7. Projections based on Lead Guitar school spending case studies, 2021
8. Lead Guitar Enrollment Data 2015-2020