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♪ Burl Ives: Go tell 
aunt Rhody,♪

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♪Students: Go tell aunt Rhody, 
go tell aunt Rhody ♪

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Elizabeth N.: I think playing an 
instrument brings you joy.

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And kids need more joy in 
their lives and I see a

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big part of my job is bringing 
more joy to their life.

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Rob: There's plenty of 
"joy" to go around at

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Luther Burbank Elementary 
School in Santa Rosa,

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where every sixth grader 
gets a full hour of music

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lessons each week.

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♪ Go tell Aunty Rhody ♪

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Rob: Every Thursday, four music 
classes happen simultaneously:

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One for woodwinds, 
another for brass winds,

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plus violin and guitar.

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The classes are taught 
by a roving band

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of music teachers.

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They repeat this scene at 
every elementary school

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in the district 
throughout the week.

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It's called 
'The Music Blitz.'

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Erik: In the Blitz, just the 
trumpets and trombones go

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in a room, just the violins 
go in to a room,

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just the clarinets 
go in to a room.

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And it gives the teacher 
more flexibility and time

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to work with a smaller group 
of kids in a very focused

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setting that makes the best 
use of our limited time,

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which is one hour a week.

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Rob: Students previously 
only had half an hour of

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music a week, or they 
had to stay after school...

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a result of cutbacks enacted 
during the No Child Left Behind

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era when the focus 
shifted away from the arts.

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Elizabeth E.: And I think 
that's what led to our

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elementary students only 
having 30 minutes of

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music a week.

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I mean, really, 30 minutes?

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You could barely 
even get in the room.

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We understand that student 
engagement is a key aspect

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of student success.

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You know, English 
class is great,

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math class is great, 
history is great,

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it's interesting, but the 
thing that often engages

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students the most are 
things where they're doing

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something, and very 
often that's music,

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or art, or dance, 
or theater.

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Rob: Elizabeth Evans and 
her colleagues visited other

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schools with 
successful music programs,

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including Berkeley 
and Clovis, near Fresno.

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That's where they came up 
with the idea for

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the Music Blitz.

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The first thing they decided 
was to hold the music

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classes during the 
regular school day.

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Erik: Before this year, 
all of our music classes

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involving instrumental music 
had to happen before

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or after school at 8 of 
our 9 school sites.

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The issue became kids that 
took the bus couldn't take

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the programs, kids who 
wanted to do sports couldn't

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take the program, kids that 
couldn't stay after school,

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for whatever 
reason, they walk,

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they had to watch their 
little brother and sister,

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they couldn't 
do the programs.

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Elizabeth N.: When we 
started this program,

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um, most students had 
no experience playing

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an instrument, but now 
every student

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has that opportunity.

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Rob: Students also get to 
choose which instrument they

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want to focus 
on for the year.

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Bryan selected 
violin...

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inspired by the Mariachi 
music his family enjoys.

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He practices for 30 
minutes every night.

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Bryan: I usually play inside 
my room and then when

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I feel like I'm ready to like 
play the song for real,

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I go outside.

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And then I play it for my 
parents and then they say

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their feedback and 
they say if I can move

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on to different song.

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Rob: Kaela went with guitar, 
which she says was hard

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at first... 
but she's improving.

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Kaela: I got better and 
better at it when he started

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teaching us the 
notes like G and C.

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And now that they 
let us take some home,

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I practiced it 
with my family.

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We play De Colores 
and Jingle Bell rock.

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Rob: Kingsly 
plays the trumpet,

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and says he looks 
forward to Music Blitz days.

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Kingsly: It's fun 'cause on 
Thursdays I get to wake up,

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I get to bring my notes 
and get to play music.

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That makes me joyful to 
spend time with

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other people and 
be energetic.

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My mom, she liked that I was 
practicing an instrument and

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my grandma, she was really 
excited because she used to

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play trumpet and clarinet 
when she was younger.

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Rob: Educators say allowing 
the students to take the

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instruments home at 
night is a key part of

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the Music Blitz.

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Elizabeth E.: They get to 
take the instrument home,

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and practice, and that 
increases their interest,

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and engagement, and 
relationship with that,

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with that instrument.

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Erik: And a lot of the families 
are starting to get used to the

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extra noise (laughs) 
but they, really has been

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a lot of positive feedback 
from all parts of the community.

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♪♪♪

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Rob: And the Music 
Blitz is growing.

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Thanks to a one million 
dollar state depart of

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education grant the program 
is expanding to all 4th,

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5th and 6th graders.

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Elizabeth N.: I was so 
excited to hear that we won

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this grant, because I knew 
what this was going to do

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for my students.

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I knew that now, my fourth 
and my fifth graders were

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going to get the same 
experience that my sixth

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graders were having, and 
I've seen what a wonderful

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impact it makes on my 
sixth graders and

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I was so excited.

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Elizabeth E.: We know that 
the arts help students be

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more successful because of 
the way it engages the brain

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in other ways of thinking 
that are maybe

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not always linear.

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And so it's a great way to 
engage students and also

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to increase a student's 
mental capacity to learn.

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♪ ♪

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Annc: Studies show 
the arts have a powerful

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impact on academic 
achievement.

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Music students develop 
stronger math

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and reading skills.

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The visual arts teach kids 
to see connections

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other students might miss.

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And performing arts students 
excel in public speaking

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and memorization.

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Evidence suggests these 
benefits grow the longer

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students stay 
enrolled in arts education.