♪ Burl Ives: Go tell
aunt Rhody,♪

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

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

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

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

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

Luther Burbank Elementary
School in Santa Rosa,

where every sixth grader
gets a full hour of music

lessons each week.

♪ Go tell Aunty Rhody ♪

Rob: Every Thursday, four music
classes happen simultaneously:

One for woodwinds,
another for brass winds,

plus violin and guitar.

The classes are taught
by a roving band

of music teachers.

They repeat this scene at
every elementary school

in the district
throughout the week.

It's called
'The Music Blitz.'

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

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

just the clarinets
go in to a room.

And it gives the teacher
more flexibility and time

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

setting that makes the best
use of our limited time,

which is one hour a week.

Rob: Students previously
only had half an hour of

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

a result of cutbacks enacted
during the No Child Left Behind

era when the focus
shifted away from the arts.

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

elementary students only
having 30 minutes of

music a week.

I mean, really, 30 minutes?

You could barely
even get in the room.

We understand that student
engagement is a key aspect

of student success.

You know, English
class is great,

math class is great,
history is great,

it's interesting, but the
thing that often engages

students the most are
things where they're doing

something, and very
often that's music,

or art, or dance,
or theater.

Rob: Elizabeth Evans and
her colleagues visited other

schools with
successful music programs,

including Berkeley
and Clovis, near Fresno.

That's where they came up
with the idea for

the Music Blitz.

The first thing they decided
was to hold the music

classes during the
regular school day.

Erik: Before this year,
all of our music classes

involving instrumental music
had to happen before

or after school at 8 of
our 9 school sites.

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

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

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

for whatever
reason, they walk,

they had to watch their
little brother and sister,

they couldn't
do the programs.

Elizabeth N.: When we
started this program,

um, most students had
no experience playing

an instrument, but now
every student

has that opportunity.

Rob: Students also get to
choose which instrument they

want to focus
on for the year.

Bryan selected
violin...

inspired by the Mariachi
music his family enjoys.

He practices for 30
minutes every night.

Bryan: I usually play inside
my room and then when

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

I go outside.

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

their feedback and
they say if I can move

on to different song.

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

at first...
but she's improving.

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

teaching us the
notes like G and C.

And now that they
let us take some home,

I practiced it
with my family.

We play De Colores
and Jingle Bell rock.

Rob: Kingsly
plays the trumpet,

and says he looks
forward to Music Blitz days.

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

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

That makes me joyful to
spend time with

other people and
be energetic.

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

my grandma, she was really
excited because she used to

play trumpet and clarinet
when she was younger.

Rob: Educators say allowing
the students to take the

instruments home at
night is a key part of

the Music Blitz.

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

and practice, and that
increases their interest,

and engagement, and
relationship with that,

with that instrument.

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

extra noise (laughs)
but they, really has been

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

♪♪♪

Rob: And the Music
Blitz is growing.

Thanks to a one million
dollar state depart of

education grant the program
is expanding to all 4th,

5th and 6th graders.

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

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

for my students.

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

going to get the same
experience that my sixth

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

impact it makes on my
sixth graders and

I was so excited.

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

more successful because of
the way it engages the brain

in other ways of thinking
that are maybe

not always linear.

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

to increase a student's
mental capacity to learn.

♪ ♪

Annc: Studies show
the arts have a powerful

impact on academic
achievement.

Music students develop
stronger math

and reading skills.

The visual arts teach kids
to see connections

other students might miss.

And performing arts students
excel in public speaking

and memorization.

Evidence suggests these
benefits grow the longer

students stay
enrolled in arts education.