Music Haven After-School

Programs
EvaluationReport
2011-2012
Prepared by Kathleen Cei, Administrative and Program Coordinator
and Tina Lee Hadari, Executive Director
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Music Havens mission is to use a string quartet to build a vibrant urban community through performance and
music education that empowers young people, their families, and professional musicians.
Over the 2011-2012 programmatic year, Music Haven delivered 2032 hours of programming to 56 students in its
after-school programs, a slight increase over 2009-2010 (2002 contact hours to 52 students). Program evaluation
results overall continue to reveal consistently strong program delivery and progress towards the achievement of
all of Music Havens program goals. These goals are to:
Facilitatepositive youth development and community-building through music education and performance
Form pivotal long-termmentoring and close learning relationships between urban youth and professional
musicians
Empower urban youth to use music as a vehicle for conceiving futures with fewer limits and greater
possibility, both as individuals and as members of their community
Provide youth with valuable tools to expand opportunities for creativity, self-expression, cooperative
learning, teamwork, and self-esteem.
Evaluation data also suggests that youth developmental and musical competencies are fostered at high rates
overall. In general, responses to end of year survey questions on these topics have beenvery consistent over time.
METHODOLOGY
At the end of each school year, students, parents, teachers, and staff provide feedback on Music Haven after-school
lessons programming. Through evaluation forms consisting of both open-ended and scaled questions, as well as
conversations between teachers, students, parents and staff members, Music Haven collects information to help
understand the value of programming and identify areas needing attention or improvement.
Surveys were completed by 51 students (98%) and 46 parents/ caregivers (98%) of parents/ caregivers.
PROGRAM QUALITY
Indicators of class and teaching quality suggest students experiences this year were very positive overall. This has
been a consistent pattern for the past four years, demonstrating that Music Havenconsistently provides students
with a high quality classexperience led by excellent Teaching Artists.
Students wereasked if they would recommend Music Haven to their friends. 33 students respondedto this
questionin their surveys. 32 students (or 97%) responded Yes, and 1 student responded No.
Some students supplemented their answers with statements such as:
Yes, because it is a fun experience and a good thing in life.
Yes, because I learned great stuff and because I have great teachers that respect you.
Yes, MusicHaven is a great organization!
STUDENT LEARNING
Through the results of scaled questions, several conclusions can be drawn from Music Haven program evaluations:
Music Haven students learn skills that help them work better with others, help them challenge themselves and help
them feel more creative.
Music Haven students learn skills that help them work better work with others.
86%of Music Haven students express that they have improved at working in a team over the last year.
84%of students like to help others morebecause of their experiences in Music Haven.
74%of students state that Music Haven helps themcommunicate better with others.
88%of students say they get along morewith different kinds of peoplebecause of Music Haven.

Supplemental responses include:
I get along with different kinds of people,and I made new friends in Music Haven. I also can learn from other
peoplescultures.
Because of Music Haven, I want to help people who are struggling in life.
I enjoy school more now that I have more friends, thanks to Music Haven.
Music Haven youth learn to challenge themselves.
92%of students state that they have learned to work harder at things they want to accomplish.
76%of studentsstate that they are better problem solvers this year than they were last year.
Added comments include:
Music Haven taught me that you have to try your hardest and strive for the best.
At Music Haven, you learn how to work hard.
Music Haven students feel more creative.
90%of students say that Music Haven makes them feel more creative.
92%of students state that they like listening to other people play music more than they did before their
involvement with the program.
Some students added:
I feel like I can now talk through myviolin.
I really like listening to other people at Music Haven.
*all results come from students who answered either strongly agree or agree to feedback questions (see charts below)
PARENT FEEDBACK
As parents and caregivers are an essential component of our after-school lessons program, they were also asked to
provide feedback about Music Haven programming and the impact it has on their children and family. They were
given similar questionnaires to the ones the students received, and similar themes emerged:
Music Haven youth gain skills to better work with others
91%of Music Haven parents express that their children are better at working in a team because of Music
Haven.
81%of parents see that their children like to help others more.
85%of parents state that their children get along more with different kinds of people.
87%of parents state that their children can communicate better with others.
Music Haven youth learn to challenge themselves.
94%of parents state that their children havelearned to work harder at things they want to accomplish.
81%of parents state that their children are better problem solvers this year than they were last year.
Music Haven students feel more creative.
85%of parents state that their seetheir children are morecreativebecause of Music Haven.
96%of parents state that their children likelistening to other people play music more.
*all results come from parentswho answered either strongly agree or agree to feedback questions (see charts below)

Qualitative comments from the parent evaluations fit into a number of different categoriesnot represented above.
Some of the most prominent themes continue to emerge asdeveloping positive behavior through skills, building a
sense of community, and working with positive role models.
Parents indicate that good behavior and other positive life skillswere developed through Music Haven.
Some comments include:
Since MusicHaven, I see more excitement, more involvement,in everything my daughter does now.
Music Haven taught my son not to give up. He takes time to solve problems at school and stays focused and on
task.
Parents state that Music Haven fosters a positive senseof community.
Some comments include:
It has been a blessing that my daughter has been a part of such a wonderful group of people who not only
show her the instrument, but also teach her how to respect and care for others and to be a team.
Music Haven brings our familycloser and helps us develop a deeper love and respect of music.
A third theme to emerge through parent evaluations includes working with positive role models.
Some parents stated:
My sons viola teacher has been a great source of support for my sons success. The transparency and dedicated
commitment to have [my son] succeed has been astonishing.
Music Haven consists of very wonderful teachers -- very caring and understanding. The teachers at Music
Haven have it all together.
FAVORITE MOMENTS
Students were asked to think back on their favorite moments and the moments they were most proud of at Music
Haven over the past year, and several themes emerged: performing and going to events, making newfriends,
building a sense of community,helping others who are less fortunate, and mastering skills.
Going on trips and participating in the Performance Parties are the most highlighted aspect of Music Haven by the
youth when asked about their favorite moments.20 students listed Performance Parties as their favorite events of
the year. 11 students mentioned All Play Days as their favorite moments of the year.
Many students reflect on the relationships they form at Music Haven:
My favorite part of Music Haven is having a happy moment with my friend.
I love being in a group with my friends.
Some responses highlight the specific relationship with a teacher:
I will be returning next year because I love being with Mr. Benn.
Music Haven is my life. My favorite part is hanging out with Ms. Yaira.
Many of the older students reflect on their success in helping others who are less fortunate through their music-
making:
I learned that my success and fun can help others -- for example, having performances and raising money for
the well in India.
My favorite part of Music Haven this year was earning money playing as an orchestra tobuilda well in India.
I was proud of working and playing music for a well in India.
Some responses emphasizebuilding and mastering skills:
My favorite moment this year was learning vibrato.
I was most proud when I finished Suzuki Book 1.
Some students cite personal or leadership skills development:
Because we were helping build a well, to help raise money, I wrote a speech with help from Ms. Tina.
I love working with a team, because you get to share the prize.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
When students were asked to state the most important thing they learned at Music Haven, some similar themes
emerged: mastering skills and specific pieces, being a part of a community, workinghard and having responsibility,
and helping others who are less fortunate.
Many students felt as though the specific skills they learn on their instrument are the most important:
Listening to pitch and playing in tune.
Vibrato.
The most important thing I learned is how to keep good posture.
Others stated the importance of being a part of a community:
Treating others with respect is the most important thing.
If you work as a team, you will sound like one instrument, and it will sound nice!
The most important thing is totreat others the way you want to be treated.
Still others pointed out the importance of hard work and responsibility:
Always try your hardest and strive for the best.
Working hard.
I learned that if you try hard enough you can accomplish anything. This is because now I play difficult songs.
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Students and parents were also asked, Do you have any suggestions for wayswe can improve Music Haven?
Responses to this question are clustered into themes below:
Expanding programming quality and delivery:
Music Haven is great! My only suggestion is longer lessons.
Maybe hire more teachers so you can take more students each year.
Cant think of any suggestions, but you should increase the expectations of new and existing parents/ families.
Try to keep some kids more focused on their instruments when they practice and less on their friends.
We would love to see Music Haven offered to more kids in the city.
The program will have to adjust and adapt asmorekids become teens; otherwise you will lose them, as the
need to be social will win over the music.
Programs during the summer.
Teach the parents more about the kind of music thekids are playing.
Scheduling, timing, and location of events:
The timing and flow of each event needs to be adjusted because were working 12-13 hour days, then running
back to school again.
Parents should be consulted before events are scheduled on extra weekdays. Childrenare involved with other
activities, as well as parents having to work.
Instead of printed fliers, have all info on upcoming events on your website where parents can access it.
Please keep the fliers and newsletters and the phone tree they help remind uswhats coming up.
We really liked the concerts at the church -- it felt more like family there, like we all had more than a reason to
be there; it made us feel happy.
Miscellaneous:
Please keep the children in the black & white for performances. They look so nice.
We felt a lot of stress and tension within the group if we arrived just after a staff meeting or a rehearsalI
most humbly & respectfully request some sort of collaboration-management counselor might help establish a
way for your beautiful musicianship to blend with administrative and logistical flow. When you are relaxed
and happy, you are among the very best people I have ever met.
Keep up the Great Work:
I think you guys are doing a wonderful job; I dont think you need to improve anything.
I think your program is fantastic!
I have no suggestions, because it is already perfect to me. Thank you.
I am amazed at how the organization continually becomes better and stronger every year.
I think you are great at what you do. I thank god every day for Music Haven. I could never have been able to
afford any kind of lessons. Thank you so much, and keep doing what you do best - helping families like mine.
Music Haven is GREAT!
Music Haven grows and gets better year after year after year.
Music Haven consists of very wonderful caring and understanding teachers. I believe they have it all together.
I wouldnt change anything its already really good.
LESSONS LEARNED AND RESPONSES
Although most of our resultsindicate that we are surpassingbenchmarksand improving from year to year, one
indicator significantly decreased from last year to this year. Although not a cause for deepconcern, 84% of
students last year stated that Music Haven helps them communicate better with others, whereas only 74% of
students this year reported Music Havenhelpingthemin this area. It is worthy of mention, however, that 25%
more students (63% last year and 88% this year) declared that Music Haven helped them to get along better with
different kinds of peoplethis past year. One way to interpret the above data is that perhaps playing music together
has the power to surmount differences, even if one struggles to know how to communicate verbally with others.
Another result that is notableis that the response toBecause of Music Haven, I enjoy school more, is consistently
much lower than desiredevery year. When asked to elaborate, many parents reply that their child already enjoys
school; hence,there is no need for change. Some students, however, point out that participating in Music Haven
providesindividual attentionand a fun, challenging environment that they are unable to access frequently at
school; thus, participation in Music Haven reduces their enjoyment of school because their expectations have
expanded. Students who have participated in Music Haven for four to five years may also no longer be seeing the
significant gains they experiencedwhen they initiallyenrolled.
All of the suggestions for improvement are highly valued at Music Haven, as we continually tryto improve our
organization from year to year. Some of the ways we will be responding to the feedback are:
1) Publishing events and details on our website calendar for parents to access in additionto printing fliers and
distributing them. Many of our parents lack regular access to the internet, and we want to utilizeas many
methodsof communication to keep our parents informed.
2) Holding all future Performance Parties and events at Southern Connecticut State University. Although we
also love the community spirit at Varick Church, we do not want to exclude the few of our families who are
not comfortable attending events at places of worship.
3) Increasing the number of new students steadily over the next three years to offer Music Haven to more kids
in the cityby steadily adding personnel to our program staff.
4) Offering a new choir and longer Music Box (Improvisation) classes to increase the overall time that a
student can participate in Music Haven throughout the week.
5) Instituting a two-week summer program that will substitute for a new two-week hiatus at the end of
February and the beginning of March (the period when most families and students are stressed about the
Connecticut Mastery Test).
6) Expanding our more advanced level orchestra into a program called Harmony in Action. This program
will take place for two hours on Friday afternoons and will combine musical training, leadership training,
and service learningfor more mature Music Haven participants. We anticipate that this older group will
enjoy opportunities to develop socially andartistically while discovering ways to use music to lead change
in their communities.
7) Increasing the number of ways parents are expected to get involved and contribute to Music Haven. Our
current parent committee and staff have met to identify more areas that need the assistance of parents,
such as carpooling, organizing the office, holding fundraisers, ushering at concerts, etc,
8) Keeping our suggested attire toblack and white for student performances.
9) Doing our best to reduce staff stress and tension with more clear communication, more accountability, and
increased capacity. We also aim to keep the unavoidable stress less permeable, so that our families are less
affected by the ups and downs and challenges of a consensus-driven small nonprofit.
10) As far as the frequency and timing of events, we sympathize with the difficulties of juggling 12-13 hour
work days and attending performances as well. We all lead extremely busy lives, but we hope all of our
events add meaning and joy to the lives of our families, as well as contribute to a community of healthy,
creative, skilled, and engaged children. As such, we hope they are worth the sacrifice for everyone involved.
Studying a musical instrument is an intensive, demanding endeavor, and we expect all of our students and
families to respect the rigor and challenge by prioritizing Music Haven as their primary extracurricular
activity.
CONCLUSION
Program evaluation results indicate that Music Havencontinues to deliver high quality programs, maintain
positive relationships with students and parents, and expand students developmental skills and assets. Parents
andstudents appreciate the mentorship and the quality of the programming offered, and for the first time in four
years, currently enrolled families are surprisingly requesting expandedprogramming to offer the opportunity to
more new students. Similar to past years, the demands of extra events, performances, and workshops adds much
stress for some families.
While the consistentlypositive evaluation results are useful for communicating programsuccesses to external
audiences, they do not measure longitudinal quality improvement. At thisjuncture, Music Haven is interested in
refining its evaluation strategies to better understand long-term program impact and identify specific program
features that are worth replicating.