I you`re walking down the right path and you`re willing to keep walking, eentually you`ll

make progress,` is a quote rom a speech at Lincoln College in 2005 by then-Senator Barack
Obama. 1his quote was eatured in the lyrics or the Anthem` ideo, composed and
perormed at Community Music\orks in 2009.
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/%40'-& M&%N IO%4?0'1% /?++)#H P
Community Music\orks 5
1he Design o the Laluation 5
Major Accomplishments 6
Major Challenges 10
Recommendations or the lurther Deelopment o CM\ 11
Creating Support or this Lxpanded \ork 13
Moing lorward: Deeloping Action Steps 14

/%40'-& Q6-N =&0#-D?40'-& RS
1he Context or the Laluation 16
Community Music\orks in Context 21

/%40'-& Q5#%%N "%7'B& -. 05% I1)*?)0'-& :L
A locus on \oung People`s Musicianship, Personal Agency,
and Participation in a \ider \orld 24
A Deelopmental Model 25
Capacity Building and Utilization Approach 25
1he Laluation Process 26

/%40'-& T-?#N K%05-D7 :<
Data Collection 30
Scoring and Analysis 31

/%40'-& T'1%N K)U-# T'&D'&B7 LS
Lnrollment and Persistence 36
Personal Agency 4
Participating in a \ider \orld 49

/%40'-& /'ON C%4-++%&D)0'-&7 SV
Challenges or CM\ 5
Recommendations or the lurther Deelopment o CM\ 58
Creating Support or this Lxpanded \ork 60
Moing lorward: Deeloping Action Steps 61


Coer photo credit: Jori Ketten
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\e would like to thank the many people who participated in this ealuation and whose time and
thoughtulness hae greatly enriched it.

or tbeir ovgoivg .vort of tbe roce..
Liz Cox
Chloe Kline
Sebastian Ruth

or .errivg ov tbe .ari.or, 1eav
Shirley Brice leath
Liz lollander
Jori Ketten
Chloe Kline
Lileen Landay
Karen Romer

or ivterrierivg favit, vevber.
1ehani Collazzo
Paromita De
Adrienne Gagnon
Liz lollander
Jori Ketten
Chloe Kline
Jacqueline Russom

or beivg ivterrierer. ava ivterrieree.
1he laculty and lellows o CM\
1he lamilies and Students o the CM\ Community

or covtribvtivg botograb.
Jori Ketten

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Photo credit: Jori Ketten
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:C==JE!@$ =JF!:*C5GF
Based on the coniction that musicians can play an important public serice role, Community
Music\orks ,CM\, has created an opportunity or a proessional string quartet to build and
transorm the urban community o which it has become an integral part - Proidence, Rhode Island.
1hrough a permanent residency o the Proidence String Quartet, CM\ proides ree ater school
instruction and perormance opportunities that build meaningul long-term relationships among
musicians, young people, and their amilies in the \est Lnd and South Side neighborhoods o
Proidence - a hard pressed city seeking to resurace by harnessing the creatie energies o
institutions, neighborhoods, and young people.

CM\ is an ambitious program. \hile ocused on string instrument instruction, its deinition o
musicianship inoles students in many string traditions and urges them to deelop improisational
and composing skills. In addition, musical expression is taught as a way o deeloping personal
agency and as a way o deeloping a oice in a larger ciic and cultural world.

@L8 18F!HE CD @L8 8K'BJ'@!CE
Such bold goals are challenging to assess. Recognizing this, the sta and Board o Community
Music\orks undertook an eighteen-month participatory ealuation in 2008 with unding rom the
Rhode Island loundation. In the words o Sebastian Ruth, ounder and executie director, the
purpose was to examine whether and how becovivg a vevber of tbe CM! covvvvit, affect. .tvaevt.` ivver
tire.: tbeir covcetiov. of tbev.etre., tbeir .ev.e of tbev.etre. a. effectire, tbeir rittivgve.. to tr, ver tbivg., or to be
ere..ire.

1he ealuation process was steered by an Adisory 1eam composed o sta, Board members, and
researchers, and was designed and executed by Dennie \ol and Steen lolochwost o \olBrown,
an international consulting irm specializing in arts, culture, and communities. 1he resulting
ealuation was designed to:

Ask and answer the central question, As young people persist in the CM\ community,
how does their musicianship, their sense o themseles, and their participation in a wider
ciic and cultural world change`

Lngage many sectors o the CM\ community in thinking about the current strengths o and
rontiers or the program: musicians, sta, Board members, amilies, and students.

Deelop actionable knowledge or the organization, proiding clear and close to the ground
implications or strengthening programs and their eects.

\ield a set o tools that CM\ could use to generate ongoing data about the program and its
eects.

1o accomplish these goals, members o the CM\ community, along with a team o ealuators,
collected seeral, complementary orms o data:

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Obserations o aternoon lessons, rehearsals, and Perormance Parties
Ongoing discussions with aculty, ellows, Board members
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\ho enrolls and persists in CM\ oer time
\ho leaes the program and or what reasons
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Practice
Musical
knowledge
Inolement
Sel-esteem
Sel-
monitoring
Motiation
Deelopmental network
Broader aspirations
Application to other
spheres
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In the contemporary United States, classical music and classical music training hae yet to relect the
range o cultures and ethnicities that could enrich it. More than 95 o symphony players are
Caucasian or Asian, and an equally large proportion come rom amilies and neighborhoods where
incomes are middle class and aboe. Len in community schools o the arts, the numbers o young
Arican American and lispanic students who participate in classical music training do not yet relect
their presence in the population. Against this background, CM\`s enrollment stands out or ully
relecting the economically and culturally dierse amilies o the \est Lnd and South Side
neighborhoods o Proidence.

lurther, in a city and a school system with high mobility rates, CM\`s capacity to attract and hold
students and amilies is also remarkable. O the students who were enrolled in 2005, more than hal
,54, are still playing or hae graduated rom the program. Students stay in the program or an
aerage o 4.5 years - longer than an entire high school career. O those who leae the program,
nearly hal leae or circumstances beyond students` and,or amilies` control ,e.g., moing, amily
illness, or the diiculty o getting to and rom lessons and work in a city without eicient public
transportation,.
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In part this persistence, and the eects associated with it, comes rom the program`s ability to attract
and hold not just students but entire amilies:

ta,, v, .i.ter. ta,, ava .ove of v, cov.iv..
Pba.e .tvaevt

reatiea tbe .igvificavce of CM! iv ovr tire. rbev cavgbt v,.etf .cbeavtivg erevt. arovva CM!
erevt.. 1be covcert. ava tbe Perforvavce Partie. cove fir.t. Ob vo, re bare to go to tbe covcert. 1be,
cove before tbe after .cboot erevt.. tbav/ Coa for CM!. tbav/ Coa tbe, aeciaea to tocate iv
Proriaevce, rigbt iv tbe veigbborbooa. 1bi. ra, re cav rat/, re cav riae a bi/e, ritbiv tbe covvvvit,
re .ee tbe eote tbat re tire ritb tbat re ror/ ritb, .ee tbe /ia. tbat go to .cboot ritb v, /ia., tbeir
favitie..
Parevt of tro tovgterv .tvaevt. at CM!

KW/=J=@[/3=(

\hen a student persists in the program and engages in its many oerings, the result is oten a
distinctie young musician with strong - though basic - technique, a keen sense o the
responsibilities o ensemble playing, a taste or a wide range o musical traditions, and a willingness
to go beyond the score to improise and compose. 1his is a quality that begins to deelop in Phase I
students and matures in the most engaged Phase II and Phase III students.

^or av ror/ivg ov a 1iratai iece. !bev begav, ra. rorriea covtav`t ta, it. ^or av ;v.t
tbrittea ritb it. !bev ta, va/e a tittte .tor, iv v, viva cattea Covcerto. 1be .tor, tive .tart.
fa.t. ivagive avtiqve bor. goivg fvriov.t,, feet ;vv, ov accovvt of it. 1iratai i. ti.tevivg; cav
ictvre biv ratcbivg att tbe ta,er.. e i. ;vv, too, to .ee att tbe ta,er. tbere. .ee tbe otitic. of tbe
tive; a tot of tbe i..ve., tbe covvov ava tbe ricb eote att ti.tevivg to tbe vv.ic. tr, to ta, it a.
ev;o, it a. if to va/e tbev ev;o, it.
. graavativg CM! .tvaevt

(IC/M[@X @\I[J>

Again, when students persist and engage, the result is a young musician who takes responsibility or
his or her own continuing deelopment by practicing and thinking about music. 1his young person
understands the personal agency and eort that it takes to engage, persist, and make progress. In
Phase I this takes the orm o joint child-amily excitement oer haing and playing an instrument. In
highly engaged Phase II and III students this agency grows into an inestment in mastery and the
deelopment o a distinct musical oice.

1bovgb baa ta,ea iv av orcbe.tra before, got v, roice vv.icatt, ta,ivg at CM!.
Ma,be ,ov covta .a, got certaiv referevce. abovt bor I ravtea to ta,. reatt, ravtea to
ere.. v,.etf tbrovgb tbe vv.ic vot ;v.t ovt of tbe boo/.
. graavativg CM! .tvaevt

be reatt, ravtea to avaitiov for tbi. otber orcbe.tra. be .evt aov`t /vor bor vav, ree/.
gettivg reaa, racticivg a tot at bove. be a./ea ve if rovta arire ber rbev tbe aa, cave.
.tt tbe ra, tbere covta tett .be ravtea it to go rett. Dririvg bove .be ra. ai.aoivtea, .be
aiav`t tbiv/ .be ta,ea rett evovgb. !e tat/ea att tbe ra, bove abovt bor va,be it ra.
better tbav .be tbovgbt, bor .be covta atra,. tr, agaiv.
Cravafatber of a CM! .tvaevt
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(@CQ=J=(@Q=M[ =[ @ ,="IC ,MCX"

Students at CM\ hae the rare experience o a wide and continuous network o support that
includes amily, consistent teachers, older students, and practice mentors.

.t aivver v, rbote favit, att tat/ea abovt tbe covcert ov atvraa,. baa a .oto ov atvraa,,
.o re rere reftectivg ov bor eote tbovgbt aia.
. bigbt, evgagea Pba.e .tvaevt

As students persist at CM\ and mature as young adults, CM\ introduces them to a still wider ciic
and cultural world that includes concerts, opportunities to work with and talk with proessional
musicians, and the rare experience o perorming pieces composed or CM\ musicians. lighly
engaged Phase II and III students who take up these opportunities deelop a keen sense o their
musical identity in a wider world:

1be be.t aa, of v, tife, tbe aa, ritt revevber forerer, i. tbe aa, tbat re ror/ea ritb DR
1

ava erforvea. 1bat ra. tbe /ivg of aa,. rbev .aia to v,.etf 1bi. i. rb, ta,.
covtav`t go to .tee tbat vigbt.
. Pba.e .tvaevt

1hey also deelop a network o connections and experiences that gies them new knowledge and
opportunities and expand their horizons:

1oaa, at tbe covcert .ar tbe girt rbo baa beev bere for vive ,ear., ava .be got tbi. .cbotar.bi
ava .be i. fvrtberivg ber eavcatiov, rbetber or vot tbe .cbotar.bi. cove. frov ber beivg bere
atove or vot. t revivaea ve of v, frieva`. aavgbter, tbe ove cave to .ee. v vive ,ear., .be
vigbt be iv tbe .ave .ot, graavativg ritb a .cbotar.bi. Ma,be ,ov aov`t /vor. 1bat ra. v,
farorite. eeivg .oveove .tic/ ritb tbe rograv for vive ,ear.. t i. are.ove, after ror/ivg for
vive ,ear., cottege ritt be votbivg.
rieva of a CM! favit,

I[C=J3I" @[" /W/Q@=[I" =[[IC X=]I/

Persistence, musicianship, agency, and participation in a wider world are the separate aces o the
kind o motiated, curious, and engaged inner lie that the CM\ program helps young people orge.
\hen students persist, when they engage deeply with the musical training and take adantage o the
many opportunities presented, remarkable things occur.

1here is eidence that een outside o CM\ lessons, music becomes a orce organizing their lies,
ocusing their actiities and relationships. lere, or instance, is a Sunday in the lie o a highly
engaged Phase II player ,with the instances o musical actiities highlighted,:

1
Daniel Bernard Roumain, a contemporary composer and iolinist, who composed and rehearsed an original piece with
CM\ students.
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,5%#% @40'1'0H 3-6 X-&B^ ,'05
3-6
#%B?*)#*H^
lome Breakast - Ate a bowl o cereal lamily

Got mysel and brother ready or
church
Listened to music on my stereo

About 30 min
lamily
Listen eery
day when I get
ready
Church
,Bethel,
\ent to church
Serice - I played iola

11:00 - 1:30
lamily
Congregation
1wice a
month

Mother had meeting, watched my
brother play outside
Listened to iPod
1:30 - 2:30
lriend`s
house
1ook my instrument, she plays
too, we played music, then
watched 1V with her little sister
About 3:00
30 - 45 min
Another
riend, a cellist,
was going to
come
Get together
to play about
once eery
two months
lome
Got on lacebook with CM\ and
others - a riend rom CM\ got
me on last summer
About 30 - 45
min
Lery day

Dinner - \e talked about the
concert on Saturday, I had a solo
on Saturday, so we were
relecting on how people thought
I did
10 - 15 min lamily
\heneer I
perorm

Got ready or school
\atched M1V
About 30 min
Listened to music on stereo About 30 min Lery day

1he program can also result in young people learning habits o hard work, inestment, and mutual
responsibility:

1be .evior CM! qvartet got to coacb iv tbe 200 cav .ivt, vaae v, ree/. 1be, baa a
vvvber of attribvte. rbicb vaae tbev ove of tbe be.t grov. tbere - tbe, rere otaer tbav vo.t,
tbe, baa /vorv eacb otber for a tovg tive, tbe, baa a bigbt, aeretoea ;ava rer, fvvv,) raort
ava covvov tavgvage, ava tbe, .eevea 100 er.ovatt, ivre.tea iv beivg vv.iciav. ava
ta,ivg togetber. . v vo ra, rere tbe, too/ivg to tbeir coacb for votiratiov - tbe, brovgbt
tbeir orv, ava tbe, ;v.t ravtea to ta, better. 1beir a,av qvartet vorevevt ra. a fa.t,
evergetic iece ava it tea.ea tbev greatt, . tbe fir.t riotivi.t .aia rbev tbe, got tbe iece v to
tevo ava ta,ea it off tbe .trivg ava vaae it to tbe eva, tore tbi. iece .o vvcb ravt to
varr, it!
. coacb frov a artverivg .vvver rograv

In sum, the experience o growing up at CM\ can proide an anchor or a core identity:

cav`t go to cottege ritbovt v, cetto . `tt robabt, go cra, . cav`t ivagive v,.etf vot
ta,ivg vv.ic
Pba.e .tvaevt

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='MC5 :L'BB8EH8F
1he key question or CM\ is how more than the most persistent and most engaged students can be
aected in deep and lasting ways.

I[CMXXKI[Q @[" (IC/=/QI[JI

Such remarkable outcomes or young people depend on students enrolling early enough, becoming
highly engaged, and persisting in the program. loweer, less than hal ,4, o CM\ students
enroll by age 9, with 88 enrolled by 12. Moreoer, during high school ,particularly ater age 16,
students are increasingly likely to drop out oluntarily.

KW/=J=@[/3=(

Samples o students playing in lessons suggest that CM\ students are technically young or the
number o years that they hae been playing ,in intonation, rhythm, ingering, etc.,. Part o the
reason may be that students report that their lesson is the only time that they play. 1his means that
despite their interest they simply do not hae the hours they need or luency on their instruments.

Cirev tbe CM! .tvaevt`. ivcreaibte votiratiov ava raort ava tbeir grorivg iaevtit, a.
vv.iciav., a ti/e to .ee tbev get att tbe toot. tbe, veea to ta, at av erev better teret.
. coacb frov a artverivg .vvver cbavber vv.ic cav

1his raises the question about whether it would be possible to create social settings ,e.g., aterschool
practice sessions,, cross-age mentoring, or amily-to-amily jam` sessions that would help young
players get the hours they need on their instruments.

(IC/M[@X @\I[J>

Students across phases hae a limited sense o what they can do to make a dierence in their playing.
1hey report that they don`t know how to practice in ways that make a dierence or how to talk
about where they are struggling.

1eacber: !bat ao ,ov ao rbev ,ov get to a bara art iv tbe iece.
tvaevt: f av feetivg everg,, .ovetive. /ee goivg orer ava orer it ava .eeivg if covta get
better. Or .ovetive. ;v.t .to or teare it to v, te..ov.
Pba.e .tvaevt

1he data on students` inolement and inestment in practicing and playing show a dip between
Phase I and later Phase II and III engagement. 1here is a period when some students and their
amilies report losing interest or sense o progress.

rovta .a, be ba. to.t .teav iv tbi. ta.t ,ear. e ra. rer, ecitea rbev be got bi. iv.trvvevt,
rbev be covta get a gooa .ovva, rbev be ta,ea bi. fir.t reat .ovg.. ^or `a bare to .a, tbat
be`. to.t. e aoe.v`t .ee biv.etf a. a gooa vv.iciav rbo i. vorivg atovg to bigger tbivg.. e
ba.v`t baa vvcb of a art iv erforvavce.. aov`t ravt bi. ivtere.t to faae.
Parevt of a CM! .tvaevt

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1hese indings suggest that particularly during the long haul` o deeloping the manual and musical
skills or playing well, CM\ students may need a more articulated sense o what they can do to
progress and how to use their lessons or home practice sessions. It is possible that students also need
clearer markers o their progress ,e.g., a process or setting goals, dierent roles and tasks that they
can take on, and choices o pieces they want to tackle,. It is worth considering the model o
deelopment practiced in karate and other martial arts where there is a sequence o clear leels that
.tvaevt. prepare or and take on as they recognize they are ready.

(@CQ=J=(@Q=M[ =[ @ ,="IC ,MCX"

An additional challenge or CM\ is how to translate the intimate deelopmental network ,i.e.,
students, amilies, and teachers, into a set o wider opportunities or increasing numbers o students.
lamilies describe how hard it is to do anything more than lessons and practicing when their children
are also inoled in sports, debate, or step classes. Some Phase I and less engaged Phase II students
describe additional CM\ opportunities, such as concerts trips or workshops as being like
homework: something that has to be done.

aov`t ti/e aoivg tbe etra .tvff ti/e tbe covcert tri.. ra.v`t goivg vvtit tbe, .aia ,ov baa to
go to at tea.t .ove of tbev .

aov`t ao tbe tab. - ti/e vv.ic tab ava fiaate tab. aov`t ti/e barivg to va/e v tbivg. iv
frovt of otber eote.
-- . fovrtb ,ear .tvaevt at CM!

1his student speaks to what may be an underlying challenge or CM\: inding ways to engage
younger and less engaged students in taking risks and trying out the many opportunities that the
organization has to oer. 1his entails trying new situations and enturing outside amiliar routines
and neighborhoods.

58:C==8E1'@!CEF DC5 @L8 DJ5@L85 18K8BC6=8E@ CD
:=*
I[CMXXKI[Q @[" (IC/=/QI[JI

More than hal o the students in the 2005 cohort hae persisted in the program - a retention rate
that is remarkable or a classical music program in a city where economic hardship requently orces
amilies to be highly mobile. Len so, there are steps CM\ should consider taking:

Lnrolling students at younger ages in order to gie them the time to deelop the skills that
will let them progress.

lelping older students to persist een though there may be strong competition rom middle
and high school actiities and home-based demands, as well as the lure o or need or ater-
school jobs.

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!otfrorv Page 12
Collecting exit data when amilies and students leae the program in order to understand
what motiated their leaing.
2


KW/=J=@[/3=(

CM\ seeks to share a distinctie kind o musicianship. \hile the program`s primary goal is not to
prepare proessional musicians, the program does aim to gie students the rewards o working hard
on a challenging skill, deeloping a leel o personal expression, becoming a contributing member o
a community, and understanding that music can be a powerul orce in the lie o indiiduals and
communities. 1o make this possible or more students, CM\ should consider:

Creating an articulated map o expectations, skills, and possibilities or each phase o work at
CM\ that can be shared with aculty, ellows, amilies, and students.

Inesting in workshops with skilled teachers o young string players or aculty, ellows, and
mentors, with an emphasis on strategies that work as early as Phase I.

Deeloping social orms o practice that support progress ,e.g., times and places where
students can practice together, get help learning how to practice eectiely, and learn rom
older students and young adults working on pieces,.

Continuing work with amilies so that they can support, enjoy, and extend practice outside
o lessons.

(IC/M[@X @\I[J>

1his set o skills catches ire in highly motiated Phase II and III students. 1he challenge is how to
build these skills and habits earlier and more widely by:

Building a more actie role or students in their own musical deelopment ,e.g., picking their
next piece rom a range o appropriate choices, announcing selections and what to listen or
at Perormance Parties, or keeping a digital portolio.,.

Continuing lesson-embedded interiews to support mutual relection and goal-setting
between teachers and students.

Building a system o electronic portolios that help students to chart progress ,music
samples, interiews, and short personally-releant samples rom Perormance Parties, and
yield year-end albums.`

Creating paid roles or Phase III students to assist in this work, while they also learn releant
musical, instructional and technical skills.

(@CQ=J=(@Q=M[ =[ @ ,="IC ,MCX"

1hese capacities are a distinguishing eature o the programs at CM\, expanding its scope o
outcomes beyond what is sought by many other music education programs. Currently, a small group
o students realize these outcomes. 1he challenge or the organization is to begin to build these

2
An eort to examine comparison data rom other community-based music programs reealed that most institutions track
enrollment but not persistence.
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!otfrorv Page 1
capacities earlier, more explicitly, and in a wider number o young people. In combination with the
strategies outlined aboe, additional actions could include:

Building on eents like this year`s composition and perormance o an original piece in
honor o Obama`s election, which proided many students with a close-to-home
introduction to the wider world.

Lxpanding the range o places where CM\ students can play through aith-based
organizations, schools, neighborhood estials, etc.

Lxpanding partnerships with other organizations where older students can play ,e.g.,
Philharmonic Music School, Rhode Island \outh Philharmonic Orchestra, Apple lill, Bay
Chamber Concerts, etc.,.

Seeking and more widely distributing opportunities or Phase II and III students to present
the work o the organization, through attending lie eents or through producing web-based
materials.

Inesting in workshops or partnerships that will allow students` digital recording and
documentation skills to mature and improe so that they can contribute relections to the
website, produce materials or \ou1ube, etc., at an increasingly high leel o quality.

:58'@!EH FJ66C5@ DC5 @L!F 8I6'E181 *C5G
1aking on the work outlined aboe will require considerable organizational and community support.
Sta, Board members, and amilies will hae to:

8?'*D .)+'*HY9)7%D +?7'4')&75'F: Many amilies want to be better able to support the
musical aspects o practicing ,e.g., by asking questions, oering strategies, or turning to
CM\ CDs or a website with examples o what the pieces sound like played well or in a
ariety o styles,approaches, etc.,. CM\ could also work with amilies to create community-
based opportunities or young people`s playing ,e.g., at aith-based serices or amily eents,
or by creating CDs to send to distant relaties, etc.,.

I70)9*'75 +%D') F)#0&%#75'F7 .-# D-4?+%&0'&B D%1%*-F+%&0: CM\ would beneit rom
an alliance with a strong media partner to help with the organizational design and
implementation o electronic musical portolios or students, as well as internships or older
students. 1he purpose would be to record indiidual student deelopment, support their
relection, and allow them to share their musical work ,e.g., playing, composing, writing liner
notes, with others.

/0).. .-# ) D'..%#%&0')0%D F#-B#)+: I these inestments yield younger students enrolling
and higher numbers o students persisting into Phases II and III, the organization may well
need to think in terms o more explicit specialization in aculty and ellows, with some
indiiduals concentrating on early years and others ocusing on more mature young
musicians.

J#%)0% -&B-'&B D)0) 7H70%+7: As a part o annual intake and year-end interiews with
students and amilies, it is important to build stronger ongoing data collection systems that
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!otfrorv Page 11
regularly capture inormation ,e.g., grades, course enrollments and electies, auditions and
additional musical actiities, orms o personal or community serice, etc.,. 1ogether with
longitudinal persistence data, this would proide the oundation or ongoing relection on
the program and or possible larger scale comparisons on a range o indicators ,e.g.,
comparisons with other neighborhood students who also attend Proidence Public Schools.,
1his inormation would be an ongoing resource or talking about the program with unders.

J-**)9-#)0% )&D *%)#& .#-+ ) &%06-#A -. 4-**%)B?% -#B)&'_)0'-&7: CM\ has strong
local organizational colleagues through the Proidence \outh Arts Collaboratie. 1here is
also a growing network o music-speciic colleagues engaged in similar youth deelopment
and community-building work, including seeral sister organizations that, like Community
Music\orks, were eatured by Chamber Music America as Seen Stars` in the arts
education ield. 1wo o these programs were directly inspired by CM\. Regular exchanges
with these programs will be ital to both problem-soling and innoation.

=CK!EH DC5*'517 18K8BC6!EH ':@!CE F@86F
Acting on the aboe recommendations will take time, relection, and resources - een as CM\ has
programs to run, new ellows to welcome, and other initiaties to undertake. \ith that in mind,
together the Board and sta might consider using the ealuation as a stimulus to discussion,
designing options and making choices. Critical steps in such a process might include:

lolding discussions on key points designed to deelop a prioritized list o which
recommendations are the most urgent and easible in the 2009-2010 year and across the next
three years.

Lnsuring that the strategic plan or the organization accounts or work toward the key
recommendations that are selected.

Continue to share and substantiate these indings through regular ealuations that can index
progress in all the areas highlighted in this report.

Lxpand the indices o student success to include dimensions such as academic achieement,
community serice, and enrollment in additional orms o music education.

Deelop strategies to ollow up with graduates o the program ollowing their later
deelopment as students, musicians, and concerned citizens.



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Photo credit: Jori Ketten
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lor twele years Community Music\orks ,CM\, has oered musical instruction and experiences to
community children in the \est Lnd and South Side neighborhoods o Proidence, areas o the city
that are home to many working amilies who seek to ind the best or their children in a city that is
hard-pressed to proide opportunities such as music and art in its schools.

1he highly accomplished members o the Proidence String Quartet proide priate and group
lessons on the instruments o the classical string quartet: iolin, iola, and cello. In addition, children
enroll in electie courses such as Music Lab and liddle Lab, attend workshops by isiting ensembles
and composers, and perorm regularly at parties and salons attended by their teachers, amilies, and
members o the community.

Unlike the pre-collegiate diisions o many major conseratories, CM\`s purpose is not to prepare
students exclusiely or careers as proessional musicians. Instead, CM\ proides sustained training
in classical music to children in order to deelop a broader, holistic musicianship designed to oster a
lie-long engagement with and loe o music as a source o personal and community identity.
Moreoer, the CM\ program seeks to harness the power o music as a tool or building dedication
and perseerance, along with a commitment to joint action and social justice.

In 2008, the Rhode Island loundation proided unding or an ealuation o the CM\ program.
1he sta o CM\ began work on this ealuation with an Adisory 1eam composed o sta and
Board members, scholars, and ealuators. Subsequently, CM\ commissioned Dennie \ol and
Steen lolochwost o \olBrown to conduct and write the ealuation. 1he ollowing document
proides:

context or the ealuation
background on the approach and process o the ealuation
major indings or each o the key outcomes ,Musicianship, Agency, Relations to \ider
\orld,
recommendations and action steps

@L8 :CE@8I@ DC5 @L8 8K'BJ'@!CE
Q3I (CMK=/I @[" (@C@"M` MT J=Q=I/

Cities are rich in resources ,libraries, museums, magnet and charter schools, parks, colleges and
uniersities,, and many o these are ree. Cities hae another source o cultural wealth - they are
places o conluence where languages, cultures, religions, and cuisines meet and use. As rich as they
are, cities also host the greatest diides in opportunities or children and youth. Proidence is no
exception. Growing up on the aluent Last Side or in the poorer \est Lnd is dramatically dierent
in terms o the quality o public schools, the hours the public library is open, the acilities at the \,
and the number o bus transers it takes to reach a museum, concert, or a campus class. Len access
to and cost o resh ruits and egetables ollows this same geography.
3


1his unequal distribution matters, as it has long ueled the gaps between who graduates rom high
school, who attends college, and who is in a position to thrie and gie back to their community.
loweer, these gaps may take on added meaning in current times when earning and thriing will
increasingly be tied to an emerging set o characteristics:

3
Rothman, Robert. ,200,. Cit, cboot.. Cambridge, MA: larard Lducation Reiew Press.
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\ho is a citizen o the world: someone who can moe comortably and respectully across
situations, languages, and dierent cultural communities

\ho thinks critically about existing knowledge and systems

\ho can create and innoate

\ho is willing to take action and work with others to make a dierence
4


\hile some might argue that these capabilities are the responsibility o amilies and,or schools,
Community Music\orks has deeloped a dierent proposition: een modestly-sized cultural
organizations, i positioned within urban neighborhoods and willing to open their practice to children
and amilies, can make substantial contributions to:

the deelopment o children and youth

amilies` capacity to proide opportunities or their children

the stability and quality o lie in a neighborhood

a enlarged mission or arts and cultural organizations situated in urban communities

It is this larger hypothesis that urnishes the broad context or the design and conduct o this
ealuation o Community Music\orks.

Q3I JK, [I=\38MC3MM"/

By locating its oice, teaching spaces, and perormances in the \est Lnd and South Side
neighborhoods o Proidence, and by oering ree instruction, CM\ stands to challenge both the
racial and economic homogeneity o classical music education and practice. Data rom the
Proidence Plan make it clear that amilies in these neighborhoods who seek the best or their
children are doing so under challenging circumstances:
5



Q5% JK, [%'B59-#5--D7 (#-1'D%&4%
Diersity
\hite 26.5
Non-lispanic \hite 13.8
lispanic 51.6
Black 18.
Asian 13.2
\hite 54.5
Non-lispanic \hite 45.8
lispanic 30.0
Black 14.5
Asian 6.2
Public school
children with primary
language other than Lnglish
68 32
Median lamily Income >23,346 >32,058
lamilies below Poerty 36.6 23.9


4
Although dierently worded, these are the capacities listed by the Partnership or 21
st
Skills, under the discussion o
learning and innoation skills. Aailable online at www.21stcenturyskills.org,index.phpItemid~
120&id~254&option~com.

5
Proidence Plan. Aailable online at http:,,local.proplan.org,proiles,wed_main.html. Accessed September 21, 2009.
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Q3I JM[QI`Q MT JM[QIK(MC@C> KW/=J I"WJ@Q=M[

In 2008, the National Assessment o Lducational Progress published data rom a nation-wide
assessment o arts education. 1he assessment, which was ocused on 8
th
graders studying music and
the isual arts, proides a sobering picture o the kinds o actiities young adolescents engage in and
their resulting skills. Among the most discouraging indings is how inrequently students engage in
making music ,33 playing instruments, 28 singing, 1 composing,.
6
Moreoer, these patterns
are stubbornly low across an entire decade.

1be ercevtage of .tvaevt. at
tb
graae, b, .tvaevtreortea iv.cboot actiritie. tbeir teacber. a./ tbev to ao at tea.t ovce
a vovtb iv 1 ava 200

R<<a :;;b
Listen to music 51 49
Sing 30 28
Play instruments 28 33
\rite down music 26 33
\ork on group assignments 36 35
Make up own music 16 1


6
U.S. Department o Lducation, Institute o Lducation Sciences, National Center or Lducation Statistics, National
Assessment o Lducation Progress ,NALP,, 2008 Arts Assessment. Aailable online at
http:,,nces.ed.go,nationsreportcard,pd,main2008,2009488.pd. Accessed December 1, 2009.

bia.
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Clearly, the majority o 8
th
graders in this country hae only rudimentary knowledge o how music
works, how to read it, or how to talk about it:

Ma of tbe itev. tbat cvrrevt |
tb
graaer. cav accovti.b iv vv.ic

Scale
score
Question description
300
--
25 Identiy piece o music as coming rom 09th century and proide limited justiication why
265 Identiy one element o jazz present in Rhapsody in Blue`
239
Describe an emotion or mood created by a composition and describe two ways in which
emotion or mood was created
23 Proide a partial identiication and description o errors in pitch in an instrumental solo
230 Describe a similarity and a dierence between two written ocal parts
228 aevtif, tbe .oto iv.trvvevt begivvivg Rba.oa, iv tve
225 Proide a comparison between the tone color o two dierent singers
195 etect a tive ararivg reftectire of tbe tetvre of av eavte of vv.ic
195 aevtif, tbe terv for a fervata .,vbot
192 Identiy the name o a piano dynamic marking and explain its meaning
183 Lither identiy the name o a piano dynamic marking or explain its meaning
182 Proide a limited explanation o why spirituals were important in people`s lies
16 aevtif, a correct tive .igvatvre for a iece of vv.ic
14 5th percentile
12
Identiy region o origin o Arican musical excerpt and proide a description o
characteristic related to its style
16 aevtif, a ba.. ctef .,vbot
166 aevtif, tbe t,e of iv.trvvevtat ev.evbte erforvivg av ecert
163 Describe one eature o a song that identiies it as a spiritual
151 Identiy the length o the introduction o Shalom My lriends`
136 aevtif, airectiovat covtovr of art of vetoaic bra.e
128 25th percentile
124
Identiy region o Arican musical excerpt and proide partial explanation o its style
characteristics
84 Describe an emotion or mood created by a composition
49 Identiy region o origin o Arican musical excerpt
--
0
Note: Regular type denotes a constructed-response question. Italic type denotes a multiple-choice question. 1he position o
a question on the scale represents the aerage scale score attained by students who had a 65 percent probability o obtaining
credit as a speciic leel o a constructed-response question, or a 4 percent probability o correctly answering a our-option
multiple-choice question.

Additional NALP data also make it clear that students in city school systems hae less access to
music and correspondingly perorm at a lower leel in music than students rom other settings.
Similarly poor children also perorm at signiicantly lower leels than their wealthier peers.
9
1hese
realities are eident in a city like Proidence, where there are ew music classes aailable, especially at
middle schools and high schools, and where bands and orchestras hae disappeared.

8
bia.
9
Keiper, Shelley, Sandene, Brent, Persky, lilary and Kuang, Ming. ,2009,. 1be ^atiov`. Reort Cara: 1be .rt. 200.
\ashington, DC: Institute or Lducation Science. National Assessment o Lducational Progress.
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!otfrorv Page 20

Additional data rom recent sureys o community schools o the arts indicates that CM\ is
distinctie een in the context o organizations whose mission is to make music learning widely
accessible.
10
Compared to many other community music schools, CM\ seres a much higher
proportion o children o color, especially lispanic students, and proides uniersally ree music
learning as compared to a mix o scholarship and ee-based lessons.

Q3I JM[QI`Q MT JX@//=J@X KW/=J

C\M`s work also needs to be understood in the context o the contemporary world o classical
music, in which Latinos and Arican Americans comprise only 4 o symphony players,
11
but
account or nearly a third o the general population. 1hough most classical music organizations are
located in urban areas, many o which are primarily inhabited by people o color, audiences are
predominantly white, usually coming rom the suburbs. Most classical music audience members are
oer sixty years old, despite the huge interest in music among young people. 1here are, thereore,
serious questions about how the classical music tradition will be shared, but also how it will be
inigorated by the presence o players and audiences who bring dierent traditions and sensibilities
to their musical experiences.

f a covavctor rebear.e. ava erforv. a girev iece ritb a vovairer.e orcbe.tra, ava tbev
rebear.e. ava erforv. tbe .ave iece ritb a airer.e orcbe.tra, tbe re.vtt ritt be a covtetet,
aifferevt arti.tic roavct - ove tbat rovta argve i. .verior, becav.e tbe .coe of tbe arti.tic
ivvt tbat revt ivto it. creatiov i. .o vvcb greater. Cta..icat vv.ic i. av art forv tbat tbrire.
ov ver ivterretatiov. ava cvttvrat ivftvevce.. Cvrrevtt,, it i. tbir.tivg for ver oa.e. frov
rbicb to .v.taiv it. arti.tic ribravc,.
-- Aaron Dworkin, President o the Sphinx Organization
12


In addition, many musicians would point out that the pool o young players is also homogeneous in
terms o their class background. Becoming a skilled player demands enormous resources. 1here are
the obious inestments, such as a quality instrument, music, the cost o lessons, and concert clothes.
In addition, there are the sidebar costs: tickets to lie perormances, discs to listen to, and
transportation to and rom lessons. And there are the hidden costs,` like the time, social capital, and
research it takes to identiy a good teacher, to ind out about and trael to auditions, and to prepare
and qualiy or scholarships at special programs.

1hus, the location, enrollment, and programs at CM\ challenge the belie that classical music is
ineitably \estern, elite, and aboe` the concerns o a contemporary urban world. In this regard,
CM\`s programs represent one compelling strategy or the surial or orchestras and chamber
music: the creation o a dierse body o music-loers through consistent exposure to and instruction
in the art itsel.

10
National Guild o Community Schools o the Arts. ,2009,. ieta vrre, Reort: 200200 .caaevic Year.
11
Sadykhly, Aa. Diersiying the symphony. Aailable online at www.polyphonic.org,panels.phpid~8&day~1. Accessed
September 20, 2009.
12
Dworkin, Aaron. ,200,. v vr.vit of airer.it, iv ovr orcbe.tra.. Aailable online at www.polyphonic.org,article.phpid~102.
Accessed September 20, 2009.
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:C==JE!@$ =JF!:*C5GF !E :CE@8I@
Based on the coniction that musicians can play an important public serice role, Community
Music\orks has created an opportunity or a proessional string quartet to build and transorm the
urban community o which it has become an integral part -- Proidence, Rhode Island. 1hrough a
permanent residency o the Proidence String Quartet, Community Music\orks proides ree ater
school instruction and perormance opportunities that build meaningul long-term relationships
between musicians, young people, and their amilies in the neighborhoods o the city.

As a music program, CM\ is unusual. lirst, its deinition o musicianship is bold, encompassing
more than technical proiciency in classical music by inoling students in many string traditions and
urging them to deelop improisational and composing skills. Second, at CM\ the intention is that
playing music becomes an experience o deeloping personal agency and o recognizing both the
power and the responsibility o haing a oice in larger ciic and cultural conersations. linally,
music is seen as a way o being in the world: a set o practices or learning rom and teaching others,
giing back and contributing, and traeling towards new horizons.

CM\`s current curriculum expands through three phases in which both the musical and community
work deepen. \hen they enter the program, all children are assigned to Phase I. Students in this
phase o the program participate in weekly indiidual lessons, monthly workshops and trips to
concerts, and Perormance Parties, which take place ie times a year. Once they hae achieed a
suicient leel o expertise, and are at least 12 years old, they adance to Phase II, which is intended
or early adolescents. In this phase, students participate in weekly orchestra rehearsals, music lab
classes that teach improisation, theory, and composition, and discussions on themes o social
justice. In addition, Phase II students organize and help choose the topics or \outh Salons in which
they and audience members discuss an important issue. ,In 2009, the Salon ocused on the inequities
in arts education or young people growing up in Proidence., Phase III students, who are late
adolescents ,ages 15 to 18,, participate in all Phase I and II actiities, but also rehearse and perorm
as a chamber ensemble.

1hus, unlike the pre-collegiate diisions o many major conseratories, CM\`s primary purpose is
not to prepare students to become proessional musicians. Instead, CM\ proides sustained training
in classical music in order to deelop a broader, holistic musicianship designed to oster a lie-long
engagement with and loe o music, as well as a keen sense o community and social justice. In
addition, CM\ seeks to harness the power o music as a tool in building perseerance, agency and
curiosity, competencies that hae applications ar outside the arts, and indeed that are critical to
success throughout lie.

1his mission represents a sharp contrast to typical outreach concerts that many musical institutions
oer to urban students. In this sense, CM\`s work proides a compelling alternatie strategy or
building audiences or classical music. Rather than exposure or lower-priced tickets, CM\ has re-
imagined the surial o orchestral and chamber music as the creation o a dierse body o music-
loers through consistent exposure to and instruction in the art itsel. In this regard, CM\ inherits
and expands a ital tradition in American learning: the belie that all institutions - museums,
orchestras, uniersities, and libraries - should be open to the public and contribute to the well-being
and ibrancy o their communities.

linally, CM\ holds and shares a distinctie deinition o musical excellence. In this iew, being a
highly skilled musician covbive. musical proiciency ,both technical skills and expression,, personal
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!otfrorv Page 22
commitment, and an understanding o music as a cultural orce that can both express and help to
create a more humane world. 1hough a static picture hardly captures this dynamic relationship,
CM\`s iew o musical excellence looks something like:









Personal
Commitment
Music as a powerful force
in expressing and
creating a humane world
Musical
Proficiency
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8K'BJ'@!CE
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' DC:JF CE $CJEH 68C6B8F =JF!:!'EFL!6N 685FCE'B
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1here are many important questions that an ealuation might pose with regard to CM\, such as the
sustainability and scalability o its particular model o music education or the consequences or the
careers o the musicians who choose to work at CM\ as quartet members, ellows, or practice
mentors. loweer, in early discussions o the ealuation, sta and adisors decided that the
oundational question they wanted to pursue was, in the words o CM\ ounder Sebastian Ruth:

or aoe. becovivg a vevber of tbe CM! covvvvit, affect a .tvaevt`. ivver tife: tbeir
covcetiov. of tbev.etre., tbeir .ev.e of tbev.etre. a. effectire, a. rett a. tbeir rittivgve.. to tr,
ver tbivg., or to be ere..ire.

In order to translate this broad question into an ealuation design, ealuators worked with an
Adisory 1eam and the aculty o Community Music\orks to deelop a logic model that relected
the current inputs or each phase o the program and expected short- and longer-term outcomes in
three major areas:

K?7'4')&75'F includes instrumental ability, dedication to regular practice, and the depth o
inolement in practice and perormance, as well as general knowledge about the
mechanics and techniques o playing, musical ocabulary and concepts, and history o
music.

(%#7-&)* @B%&4H is a concept that encompasses sel-esteem, motiation to achiee one`s
musical goals, and the ability to objectiely monitor progress towards those goals, and,
when necessary, the willingness to deelop and deploy dierent strategies toward reaching
those goals. In short, agency is the uel or persistence and achieement.

()#0'4'F)0'-& '& ) ,'D%# J'1'4 )&D J?*0?#)* ,-#*D reers to students` willingness to
participate in a world wider than their neighborhood, amily, and school. One component
is the existence o a deelopmental network o indiiduals who support a young person`s
explorations through and beyond music. At an intimate leel, this network may include
amily members, CM\ teachers, practice mentors, and other young musicians. But as
students take adantage o what CM\ has to oer, this network branches and expands to
include distant and dierse role models ,e.g., musicians like Daniel Bernard Roumain and
thinkers like Maxine Greene,. A second component includes students` deelopment o
broader aspirations and their will to take on new experiences and challenges.

\hile these traits can be deined separately, in the lies o young musicians at CM\, they oten
oerlap and reinorce one another. 1he ollowing relections o a music coach at a partner program
in the region relect how intertwined musicianship, agency, and participation in a wider world can be:

1be .evior CM! qvartet got to coacb iv tbe 200 cav .ivt, vaae v, ree/. 1be, baa a
vvvber of attribvte. rbicb vaae tbev ove of tbe be.t grov. tbere - tbe, rere otaer tbav vo.t,
tbe, baa /vorv eacb otber for a tovg tive, tbe, baa a bigbt, aeretoea ;ava rer, fvvv,) raort
ava covvov tavgvage, ava tbe, .eevea 100 er.ovatt, ivre.tea iv beivg vv.iciav. ava
ta,ivg togetber . v vo ra, rere tbe, too/ivg to tbeir coacb for votiratiov - tbe, brovgbt
tbeir orv, ava tbe, ;v.t ravtea to ta, better. 1beir a,av qvartet vorevevt ra. a fa.t,
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evergetic iece ava it tea.ea tbev greatt, . tbe fir.t riotivi.t .aia rbev tbe, got tbe iece v to
tevo ava ta,ea it off tbe .trivg ava vaae it to tbe eva, tore tbi. iece .o vvcb ravt to
varr, it!

1be, .et a gooa eavte for ovr .tvaevt.. at.o feet ti/e got .ove er.ectire ov v, orv
teacbivg .itvatiov tbat .erre. favitie. ava teacbe. ritbiv tbe a,vavic. of tbe favit, - ra.
iv.irea b, tbe CM! .tvaevt.` ivaeevaevt orver.bi of tbeir ror/ iv cta..icat vv.ic ava
tbeir creatiov of a ver covvvvit, ba.ea ov vv.ic ava frieva.bi.
Coacb frov a artverivg .vvver vv.ic rograv

' 18K8BC6=8E@'B =C18B
Our ealuation used a deelopmental ,or longitudinal, model, in which we examined the changes in
each o these three dimensions oer time, looking at the dierences between students enrolled in
Phases I, II, and III o the program. \e chose this strategy, rather than one that ocused on
comparisons to a control group, or a number o reasons. lirst, there is no easily constructed control
group, as comparably engaged young musicians in the area are, on aerage, more priileged. 1he
young people on the CM\ waiting list are chiely younger students with modest training. In addition,
there was no ethical way to hold amilies on the waiting list throughout the ealuation, gien that the
program can hae many beneits or amilies and children and those willing to wait might be ar rom
a random sample o amilies. linally, a design with a control group would hae necessitated
collecting data rom twice the number o children, oer a comparable period o time. \e chose
instead to use the aailable time and resources to design a set o research tools that could become
ongoing strategies or data collection and relection or the organization and its many stakeholders.
1hus, the core research question or the ealuation became:

Do re .ee o.itire cbavge. iv vv.iciav.bi, agevc,, ava articiatiov iv actiritie. iv ava be,ova
tbeir covvvvitie. a..ociatea ritb .tvaevt.` tevgtb of tive iv CM!, tbeir teret of evgagevevt,
ava tbeir rogre..iov tbrovgb tbe ba.e. of tbe rograv.

:'6':!@$ AJ!B1!EH 'E1 J@!B!O'@!CE '665C':L
In addition to answering that core question about young peoples` deelopment, the ealuation had
two urther purposes. 1he irst o these was to build the capacity o indiiduals throughout the
organization to relect on the inestments and results o the program in an ongoing way, constantly
asking questions, seeking eidence, and thinking through possibilities and implications in order to
strengthen the organization`s practices. 1hus, the design builds on a tradition o participatory and
empowerment ealuations.
13
1his approach stresses engaging stakeholders in designing and
conducting their own ealuations using an outside ealuator or a team o adisors in the role o
coach,es, or critical riends. 1he process emphasizes the ollowing steps: 1, establishing a shared

!"
letterman, Daid. ,2001,. Lmpowerment ealuation: 1he pursuit o quality. .aravce. iv Prograv ratvatiov, Vol. , pgs. 3
- 106. letterman, Daid, Katarian, Shakeh and \andersman, Abraham. ,Lds.,. ,1996,. vorervevt eratvatiov: /vorteage ava
toot. for .etfa..e..vevt c accovvtabitit,. 1housand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Suarez-Balcazar, \olanda and larper, Gary \.
,Lds.,. ,2003,. vorervevt ava articiator, eratvatiov of covvvvit, ivterrevtiov.. Binghamton, N\: laworth Press.

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!otfrorv Page 2
deinition o the program`s outcomes and the purposes or the ealuation, 2, deeloping and using a
range o tools or taking stock o the program`s current strengths and the rontiers or its growth,
and 3, and planning or the uture. \hen conducted jointly these three steps build organizational
capacity and a sense o community. An oerarching goal is to create a culture o learning, sel-
assessment, and continuous improement that ar outlasts the period o the speciic ealuation.

1he second purpose was to deelop a set o practices that would continue to be useul to CM\, long
past the end o the ealuation period. 1he aim was to deelop and ield test a set o research tools
that could translate into eeryday practices that would allow CM\ sta ,in concert with the Board,
amilies, and students, to document, relect on, and strengthen outcomes in years to come. lor
example, during the ealuation teachers regularly interiewed their students about how and what they
were learning. 1he questions were deliberately designed to work or students o all ages, to it into
the last minutes o a lesson, and to gie both teachers and students a chance to relect on what was
happening or students both within and outside o lessons. 1he interiews were also intended as a
tool that could be adapted to become an ongoing part o CM\`s practices.

@L8 8K'BJ'@!CE 65C:8FF
As mentioned aboe, one o the opportunities in the ealuation was to engage aculty, sta, and
Board members in a year-long process o relection and conersation. 1he major steps in this process
included:

Lstablishing a Shared Definition of the Program's Outcomes and the Purposes of the
I1)*?)0'-&

/0%F RN =&1-*1'&B JK, /0?D%&0 C%7%)#45%#7: In the spring and summer o 2008, we worked
with Phase III CM\ students to adapt and deelop tools that would permit us to examine
the three broad areas o outcomes. lirst, a number o students olunteered to help us pilot
the interiew tools that we had deeloped. Second, during the summer o 2008, the Phase
III students collaborated on ensuring that the tools would be eectie with young people
,i.e., they used them with one another, discussed whether the inormation relected their
experience, and helped to ensure that the language and directions worked or young
people,.
/0%F :N J-**)9-#)0'&B 6'05 JK, T)4?*0H: Beginning in the all o 2008, teaching sta at
CM\ became actiely inoled in the ealuation. As an integral part o weekly lessons,
teachers began interiewing a structured sample o their students ,selected to ary in the
intensity o their inolement at CM\,. 1hese interiews ocused in turn on the three
major outcomes the program is seeking: musicianship, agency, and participation in a wider
world. \hile urnishing data or the ealuation, they are also becoming a part o the
practice at CM\ - another tool that teachers hae to work with their students. In
addition, CM\ aculty critiqued and reined the logic model that inormed the ealuation.
/0%F LN J-**)9-#)0'&B 6'05 JK, T)+'*'%7: A set o data collection tools used with CM\
amilies ocused on capturing the ways in which children`s participation in CM\
aects,contributes to amily lie and ice ersa. 1he initial pilot took the orm o a data
estial` where amilies and their children olunteered to come to a pizza dinner and create
maps o their creatie and musical worlds, as well as diaries o the ways in which they were
inoled in music. 1he eening also sered to introduce amilies to the ealuation process.

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"%1%*-F'&B )&D W7'&B ) C)&B% -. Q--*7 0- J)F0?#% 05% /0#%&B057 )&D [%%D7 -. 05%
(#-B#)+

/0%F PN C%.*%40'&B -& J#%)0'&B (?9*'4 ])*?%: In January and again in June 2009, seeral
members o the CM\ ealuation adisory team met with ealuators o similar intensie
arts education programs across the country. 1he purpose was to discuss how to:
! deelop new methods to capture and represent the eects o such programs
! structure ealuations so that they contribute to practices and quality o organizations
! present the resulting inormation in ways that are conincing to unders and a
broader public interested in positie outcomes or young people
/0%F SN "-4?+%&0'&B /0?D%&0 )&D T)+'*H IOF%#'%&4%7: In the spring o 2009, aculty and
ealuators collected the inal round o data. 1his included a inal set o lesson-based
interiews conducted by teachers as well as additional interiews and data collection with
students by a team o outside ealuators. Board members also conducted their interiews
with amilies. In addition, ealuators attended multiple aternoon lesson sessions, rehearsals
or Perormance Parties, and three perormances.

(*)&&'&B .-# 05% T?0?#%

/0%F VN /5)#'&B =&'0')* T'&D'&B7 6'05 05% JK, 8-)#D: In August 2009, ealuators shared a
sub-set o indings at the CM\ Board retreat. 1his discussion ocused on the most
challenging o the indings - those that could hae ar-reaching implications or the way in
which the Board used its time and resources in the coming year,s,. 1he discussion and
questions that arose in that meeting were used to deelop the discussion drat o the
ealuation.
/0%F aN "'74?77'-& "#).0 /5)#%D 6'05 @D1'7-#H Q%)+ )&D 05% JK, 8-)#D: In
Noember a discussion drat o the ealuation was shared with the Adisory 1eam, CM\
aculty, and Board or discussion and eedback.
/0%F bN T'&)* I1)*?)0'-& "-4?+%&0 D%*'1%#%D 0- JK, )&D 05% C5-D% =7*)&D
T-?&D)0'-&$
/0%F <N c(%&D'&B #%7-?#4%7d Q5% "%7'B& -. M&B-'&B C%.*%40'1% Q--*7 .-# JK,:
Proided that resources are aailable, the ealuation process and indings will be translated
into a set o tools that will enable students, teachers, and the organization as a whole to
think about young people`s progress toward the three outcomes o the program.
Discussion with teachers and Board members suggest that seeral practices may be o
ongoing use:
! lesson-based interiews about the meaning and consequences o being a musician
! annual portolios o student work, possibly in the orm o DVD albums` that
capture a young person`s progress oer time in words and music, including both
indiidual and ensemble perormances
! potential internships or older students as mentors and technicians in helping to
produce these albums
! augmented data systems that produce a database that can yield regular data on the
demographics o students and amilies, persistence in the program, and other
potential orms o student inormation ,course-taking and electies in high school,
additional musical actiities, community serice, etc.,

1hroughout the ealuation process, many key CM\ constituencies participated, contributing their
expertise and experience:

I1)*?)0'-& @D1'7-#H Q%)+: Liz lollander, chair o the CM\ Board, Sebastian Ruth,
Lxecutie-Artistic Director o CM\, Chloe Kline, Program and Laluation Specialist at
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!otfrorv Page 2
CM\, Karen Romer, a ormer CM\ Board chair, Shirley Brice leath, Proessor at Brown
and Stanord Uniersities, Lileen Landay, ormer Proessor o Lducation at Brown
Uniersity, and Jori Ketten, an artist and media documentary specialist who works closely
with CM\ to record key eents.

T)4?*0H =&0%#1'%6%#7: All CM\ aculty members participated in interiewing students as a
part o their lessons throughout the 2008-2009 year.

8-)#D =&0%#1'%6%#7: lour Board members and three ealuators trained to interiew parents
o CM\ students.

/0?D%&0 C%7%)#45%#7: Phase III students helped to pilot the questions or the student
interiews.

/0).. C%7%)#45%#7: CM\`s Program and Administratie Coordinator, Liz Cox, together
with Chloe Kline, Program and Laluation Specialist, helped to schedule and organize the
research, as well as reiewing the enrollment and persistence data.



































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F8:@!CE DCJ57
=8@LC1F
Photo credit: Don 1arallo
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1'@' :CBB8:@!CE
Data were collected in seeral ways.

@& %O)+'&)0'-& -. 05% F%#7'70%&4% D)0) or the group o students who were at CM\
rom 2005 to the present to proide a sense o who progresses and who leaes the program.

@ 7%#'%7 -. 7%+'Ystructured interviews conducted by students' regular CMW teachers.
Students were asked to discuss their speciic experiences during the preious week`s practice
,i.e., what improed or remained diicult, what practice techniques they employed, and their
more general eelings about how and why they play their particular instrument. 1here were
three rounds o interiews. 1he irst two rounds concentrated on musicianship and agency
questions, while the inal interiew asked additional questions about how students saw CM\
connecting them to the wider world.

@ H%)#Y%&D '&0%#1'%6 with students with ealuators: In this interiew, ealuators
interiewed a subset o 49 o the 3 ocus students. 1hese 49 represented a balanced sample
o ages, phases, leels o engagement, and gender o students enrolled in CM\. 1hese
interiews were designed to supplement the shorter teacher-led interiews, particularly in the
areas o agency and connection to the wider world. 1hese interiews included:
! A journal exercise in which children were asked to detail the preious day`s
actiities, ollowed by speciic questions about the child`s engagement with music
during that day.
! A mapping exercise in which students were asked to diagram their musical world,
beginning with their experiences at CM\. 1his world could include people they
met, music they listened to, other musicians with whom they played, and ideas or
conersations they had about music.
! A series o twele questions drawn rom standard measures o sel-eicacy and
agency.

=&0%#1'%67 6'05 .)+'*H +%+9%#7 -. .-4?7 70?D%&07: 1hese were conducted by CM\
Board members who were trained on a amily interiew protocol by ealuators. Interiews
were conducted either in Spanish or Lnglish, depending on amilies` language o choice.
1he interiewers collected data on three topics:
! high and low points in their children`s experience at CM\
! amily members` contributions to children`s participation at CM\
! areas where CM\ could improe the program or students or outreach to amilies

1he ollowing table diagrams these sources o data and the way in which each contributed to an
oerall picture o the outcomes or young people who participate in CM\.
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/MWCJI/ MT "@Q@
J-&0%O0?)* ")0)
Obserations o aternoon lessons, rehearsals, and Perormance Parties
Ongoing discussions with aculty, ellows, Board members
/0?D%&0 M?04-+% ")0)
(%#7'70%&4% ")0)
D%1%*-F%D 6'05
JK, 70)..
\ho enrolls and persists in CM\ oer time
\ho leaes the program and or what reasons
K?7'4')&75'F (%#7-&)* @B%&4H ()#0'4'F)0'-& '& ,'D%# ,-#*D
Q%)45%# )&D
/0?D%&0
X%77-&Y9)7%D
=&0%#1'%67
Practice
Musical
knowledge
Inolement
Sel-esteem
Sel-
monitoring
Motiation
Deelopmental network
Broader aspirations
Application to other spheres
/0?D%&0
>%)#Y%&D
=&0%#1'%67 6'05
M?07'D%
I1)*?)0-#7
"')#H D)H:
Role o music in
daily lies o
students
@44-?&0s o
doing
something
diicult at
school,CM\
K)F7 o the worlds created
around CM\ and a
comparison actiity
()#%&0
=&0%#1'%67
4-&D?40%D 9H
JK, 8-)#D
,Not a
dimension many
parents elt
comortable
commenting
on,
3'B57 )&D
*-67 in
student`s time
at CM\
"'70'&40'1% 4-&7%Z?%&4%7
o attending CM\

F:C5!EH 'E1 'E'B$F!F
I[CMXXKI[Q @[" (IC/=/QI[JI

All o the analyses o the persistence indings are based on the annual enrollment data that CM\
tracks and were proided to the consultants by Community Music\orks sta. 1hese data include
inormation on all those who hae enrolled in Community Music\orks programs since the
program`s inception in September 1998. Data included name, date o birth, initial enrollment date,
transition to Phase II or III, end date ,graduation or withdrawal rom the program,, and or those
who were enrolled in 2005 and who subsequently let, the reason or their leaing the program.

1he 2005 cohort analysis included all students who were actie in the program as o September 2005
,63 students,. 1he analyses tracked students` progress through the seeral phases o the program
until September 2009, also tracking the date and phase or any departing student. 1he reasons or
students no longer being actie in the program were coded into our categories: 1, reasons beyond
control o the amily or child ,e.g., moing, amily illness, etc.,, 2, graduation rom the program, 3,
moing to take up another instrument, and 4, graduation.


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XI//M[Y8@/I" =[QIC]=I,/N KW/=J=@[/3=(e @\I[J>e @[" JM[[IJQ=M[

1hirty irst-round interiews were selected at random and reiewed by one o the principal
inestigators who was blind to the leel and age o the student. Based on these interiews, indicators
o three leels were established each o the dimensions that the CM\ program is designed to
improe ,see the table below,. 1hese dimensions and leels were shared with CM\ teachers and
reised according to their suggestions.

K?7'4')&75'F [- %1'D%&4% X%1%* R X%1%* : X%1%* L
Practice
Practicing 0-1 day in a
week
Neer` practicing
Practicing 2-3 days in
a week
Practicing
sometimes`
Practicing 4-5 days in a
week
Practicing oten` or
a lot`
Practicing 6- days in a
week
Practicing all the
time`
Mv.icat Kvorteage
Basic knowledge o
instrumental
mechanics ,bow,
stroke, etc.,
Knowledge o
concepts, terms ,scales,
articulations,
Knowledge o
composers, repertoire
vrotrevevt
Neer` entering the
zone - too distracted
Nothing is challenging
or diicult ,disconnect,
Paying
attention,listening
when practicing
Naming speciic
exercises practiced
Sometimes enters the
zone
1aking initiatie -
seeking out pieces that
are challenging`
Learning to manage
time - practicing
beore homework, at
consistent time
Very engrossed -
going to iola-land`
1aking initiatie -
composing on own
Sel-proessed loe or
playing, instrument, or
CM\
Qvatit, ;tecbvicat
roficievc,,
ere..ireve..)
NO SCORL
ASSIGNLD
Llementary Intermediate Adanced
@B%&4H [- %1'D%&4% X%1%* R X%1%* : X%1%* L
etfe.teev Not good` or bad`
Okay or pretty good
Getting better
Rudimentary pieces
becoming easy or
basic
Good
A lot o improement
\anting more
challenging pieces
Great
Mastery o challenging
pieces
Change o sel-
concept as a result o
CM\ inolement
14

etfvovitorivg,
1ecbviqve. c
1ric/.
No techniques
Nothing got better
Cannot articulate what
got better
Blunt repetition
Got better generally
General recognition o
alue o practice
Mistakes as aids to
learning
Student can name
speciic things got
better in playing
Noticing and
articulating dierence
in playing rom practice
Learning to deploy
techniques in serice o
goals ,arying tempi,
using recordings,
Lxtracting broader lie
lessons connecting
eort and goal
attainment
15



14
One student stated explicitly that playing an instrument was helping them ind something new inside,` another said that
one o the things they most enjoy about playing the iolin is their newound identity as a musician.
15
Noting, or example, that playing a musical instrument can help with college applications, or the more general sentiment
that perhaps playing an instrument can get me somewhere.`
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J-&&%40'-& 0-
,'D%# ,-#*D
[- %1'D%&4% X%1%* R X%1%* : X%1%* L
avit,
vrotrevevt

Parent suggested
CM\
Parent monitors
practice
Practicing in ront o
parent
lamily member as
inspiration to play
Parent actiely aids in
practice sessions
Sibling actiely aids in
practice sessions
Mevtorivg
Some rapport between
teacher and student
Clear eidence o
student-teacher bond
Student conides in or
relies on teacher or
counsel, adice
roaaer
..iratiov.

Practicing or
perormance party
Practicing or lessons
Just likes instrument
or wants to play
Using music to get
somewhere`
Using music or college
entry
Inspired by
proessional
\anting to continue in
music or ulillment or
sel-actualization
Carr,orer frov
Mv.ic to Otber
Covtet.

Very speciic and
literal connections
Seeing connections to
practice and
perormance in other
domains
Seeing music as haing
taught them a ery
wide range o strategies
or pursuing excellence

1hese leels were then used to assign a leel or each dimension to each child at each interiew.
1hese assignments were done blindly - the inestigator coding the interiews did not know how long
each child had been in the program. 1hese scores were then aeraged across the interiews to yield a
typical score ,medial-leel, or each student`s standing or each o the eight domains listed in the
table aboe.
16


Reliability was established by selecting a random sample o interiews rom 15 children ,representing
20 o the ull sample o N ~ 5,. 1he reliability sample was stratiied to ensure it represented the
ull sample in terms phase, gender, age, and teacher ,see the table below,. 1he second principal
inestigator then scored these interiews using the guidelines detailed aboe. Inter-rater reliability was
high, ranging rom 93 to 80 or the dierent categories.

/)+F*% .-# I70)9*'75'&B J-D'&B C%*')9'*'0H


T?** c[ f aSd C%*')9'*'0H c[ f RSd
(5)7%
I 56 9
II 16 5
III 3 1
\%&D%#
Male 3
lemale 38 8
@B% c'& +-&057d
Mean 148. 160.8
Standard Deiation 34. 3.8
Q%)45%#
1eacher 1 8 2
1eacher 2 10 2
1eacher 3 14 3
1eacher 4 5 1
1eacher 5 8 2
1eacher 6 16 3
1eacher 1
1eacher 8 1

16
Best- and worst-case scenarios were computed by taking the highest and lowest scores, respectiely, across all interiews
or each domain.
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!otfrorv Page 1
Gien the highly personal and aried nature o the data on broader aspirations and carry-oer to
other contexts and goals, ealuators decided to analyze a subset o the larger sample in depth, rather
than treat the entire sample more broadly. lourteen Phase II and III students were included in this
subset, as were 14 Phase I students matched or gender and teacher.
1


1he resulting data were analyzed in the aggregate, to identiy comparatie strengths and weaknesses
o the program with regard to the three major outcomes: musicianship, agency and connections to a
wider world. 1hen, using enrollment data rom CM\ iles, children`s leel o attainment in each area
was analyzed as a unction o their length o time in the program. It was our expectation that leels
o attainment, within each area and oerall, would be positiely correlated with children`s length o
time in the program. On the topic o exposure to a wider world, data were analyzed qualitatiely in
order to capture the major contrasts between Phase I students and their more experienced peers in
Phases II and III.

>I@CYI[" /QW"I[Q @[" T@K=X> =[QIC]=I,/N "=@C=I/ @[" K@(/

At the close o the year a team o ealuators conducted extended interiews ,45 to 60 minutes, with
49 o the ocus students. ,1his was the total number o students whose amilies were able to add an
interiew to their schedule during the inal weeks o the program, minus the students who were
unable to keep their appointments., 1he purpose was to collect qualitatie data that would ampliy
the indings rom the scored lesson interiews. 1his was done using two tools: 1, Students` diary
days in which they recorded their actiities or the preious 24-hours, and highlighted where music
played a role and 2, Student maps o what and whom CM\ connected them to.

1he students` diary days were categorized by students` phases and leels o engagement. Additionally,
the diary days were analyzed or:

K?7'4)* %&B)B%+%&0: All instances and types o occasions when students engaged in
musical actiities.

/F'**Y-1%#: 1he number and types o occasions where students initiated musical actiity
on their own beyond lessons, perormances, and practice sessions directly tied to CM\
,e.g., listening, curating` and collecting, or actiely playing or composing., 1he
eidence o spill-oer was seen as an indication that students were taking charge o their
own musical actiity and also using it to carry them to other actiities and relationship.

1he students` maps were also categorized by students` phases and leels o engagement. lurther, they
were coded or:

J-&&%40'-&7: 1he numbers o people, places, and actiities students saw CM\ as
connecting them to.

8#)&45'&B 4-&&%40'-&7: Occasions when CM\ linked the student to an actiity, place,
or person that subsequently led to additional connections.




1
1wo Phase II students did not complete the inal lesson interiews, and thereore were not included among the subset.
One teacher had only Phase II and III students, the students o another teacher, with the same gender distribution, were
substituted instead. Because age and phase are closely related, it was not possible to match the two hales o the subset or
age.
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Photo credit: Jori Ketten
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8E5CBB=8E@ 'E1 685F!F@8E:8
Like many community music schools, CM\ proides lessons or students rom six to eighteen years
o age. Students who stay with the program hae the opportunity to progress through a series o
three phases with increasing leels o opportunity and range o oerings. In order to understand
CM\`s holding power, ealuators examined the ull 2005 cohort o students ,i.e., all students who
were actie in the all o that year,, examining who persisted and or how long.

Q%&?#% '& (#-B#)+ c)** -. :;;S 4-5-#0d
= .tvaevt. of totat
Less than 1 year 3 5
1 year 2 3
2 years 11
3 years 4 6
4 years 10 16
5 years 9 14
6 years 10 16
years 5 8
8 years 8 13
9 years 2 3
10 years 3 5
63 100

1hirty-two students moed to Phase II ,51 o total cohort,.
Seen students moed back to Phase I ,21 o those in Phase II,.
1hree students moed to Phase III ,5 o total cohort,.
18


Q%&?#% -. :;;S J-5-#0 '& (#-B#)+ 8%H-&D :;;S
.ctire !itbarer Craavatea
As o 6,31,2005 63 0 0
As o 6,31,2006 53 9 1
As o 6,31,200 36 21 6
As o 6,30,2008 2 26 11
As o 6,31,2009 21 29 13

1wenty-nine o 63 students ,46, in the 2005 cohort withdrew rom the program in
subsequent years.
An additional 13 ,21, let the program due to graduation.



18
1his is eeryone in the database who is currently in Phase III.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
80
90
100
As o
6,31,2005
As o
6,31,2006
As o
6,31,200
As o
6,30,2008
As o
6,31,2009
(%#4%&0 -. :;;S J-5-#0 C%+)'&'&B '& (#-B#)+
\ithdrew
Actie



Q%&?#% '& (#-B#)+ 8%H-&D :;;S cg -. 70?D%&07d

.ctire
Pba.e
.ctire
Pba.e
!itbarer
Pba.e
!itbarer
Pba.e
As o 6,31,2005 56 0 0
As o 6,31,2006 39 14 8 2
As o 6,31,200 20 16 20
As o 6,30,2008 15 11 26 11
As o 6,31,2009 10 11 28 14


0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
80
90
100
As o
6,31,2005
As o
6,31,2006
As o
6,31,200
As o
6,30,2008
As o
6,31,2009
(%#4%&0 -. :;;S ()#0'4'F)&07 C%+)'&'&B '& (#-B#)+
\ithdrew Phase II
\ithdrew Phase I
Actie Phase II
Actie Phase I

!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page

Q%&?#% '& (#-B#)+ 8%H-&D :;;S cg -. 70?D%&07d IO4*?D'&B \#)D?)0%7

.ctire
Pba.e
.ctire
Pba.e
!itbarer
Pba.e
!itbarer
Pba.e
As o 6,31,2005 56 0 0
As o 6,31,2006 39 14 8 1
As o 6,31,200 20 16 1 4
As o 6,30,2008 15 11 21 5
As o 6,31,2009 10 11 23 6
Note: Seen o the 42 who let the program entered Phase II or a period o time, and then
returned to Phase I beore leaing ,or graduating,. O the 13 who graduated, 4 ell into this
category o student.

,3M XITQ Q3I (CM\C@K^

\%&D%# -. Q5-7% ,5- X%.0 05% (#-B#)+
c)** #%)7-&7e '&4*?D'&B B#)D?)0'-&d
200 200 200 200
lemale 6 15 23 28
Male 4 12 14 14
10 2 3 42

1wenty-eight o the 38 emales ,4, in the 2005 cohort withdrew rom the program in
subsequent years.
lourteen o the 25 males ,56, in the 2005 cohort withdrew rom the program in
subsequent years.

\%&D%# -. Q5-7% ,5- ,'05D#%6
c%O4*?D'&B B#)D?)0%7d
200 200 200 200
lemale 5 10 13 16
Male 4 11 13 13
9 21 26 29

I those who graduated are excluded rom the analysis, 16 o the 38 emales ,42, in the
2005 cohort withdrew rom the program in subsequent years.
I those who graduated are excluded rom the analysis, 13 o the 25 males ,52, in the 2005
cohort withdrew rom the program in subsequent years.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page

@B% )0 I&#-**+%&0 .-# Q5-7% ,5- X%.0 05% (#-B#)+
c)** #%)7-&7e '&4*?D'&B B#)D?)0'-&d
200 200 200 200
Age 1 2 3 4
Age 8 2 4 8
Age 9 2 2 4 5
Age 10 3 9 9 9
Age 11 0 1 2 2
Age 12 1 3 5 6
Age 13 0 1 1 2
Age 14 0 0 0 0
Age 15 1 2 2 2
Age 16 0 2 2 2
Age 1 0 1 2 2
Age 18 0 0 0 0
10 2 3 42

Nine o those who withdrew ,23, were age 10 at the time o enrollment, 8 ,20, were age
8, and 6 ,15, were age 12.

@B% )0 Q'+% -. "%F)#0?#% c4?+?*)0'1%e )** #%)7-&7
'&4*?D'&B B#)D?)0'-&d
200 200 200 200
Age 8 1 1 1 1
Age 9 1 1 1 1
Age 10 2 2 2 2
Age 11 0 0 1 1
Age 12 1 4 4 5
Age 13 1 1 1 1
Age 14 0 3 4 5
Age 15 0 4 5 5
Age 16 2 4 5 5
Age 1 0 1 2 3
Age 18 or older 2 6 11 13
10 2 3 42
1he total in 2009 represents all those who withdrew during
the years reported ,i.e., each year includes those who
withdrew in the preious year,s,.,

1wele o those who withdrew ,30, were age 18 or older, including 5 o the who were in
the program or 8 or more years.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 10

@B% )0 Q'+% -. ,'05D#)6)* c4?+?*)0'1%e %O4*?D'&B
B#)D?)0%7d
200 200 200 200
Age 8 1 1 1 1
Age 9 1 1 1 1
Age 10 2 2 2 2
Age 11 0 0 1 1
Age 12 1 4 4 5
Age 13 1 1 1 1
Age 14 0 4 5 6
Age 15 0 2 3 3
Age 16 2 5 6 6
Age 1 0 0 1 2
Age 18 or older 1 1 1 1
9 21 26 29
1he total in 2009 represents all those who withdrew during the years
reported ,i.e., each year includes those who withdrew in the preious
year,s,.,


(5)7% )0 Q'+% -. ,'05D#)6)*
c%O4*?D'&B B#)D?)0%7d
Pba.e Pba.e 1otat
Age 12 5 0 5
Age 13 1 0 1
Age 14 4 2 6
Age 15 2 1 3
Age 16 5 1 6
1 4 21
1wo o those who were in Phase I at withdrawal
had recently returned to Phase I rom Phase II.

Lighty one percent ,1 out o 21, o those who withdrew did so rom Phase I. loweer, 2
students o the 1 had only recently returned to Phase I, haing withdrawn ater some time
in Phase II.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
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>%)#7 '& (#-B#)+ .-# Q5-7% ,5- X%.0 05% (#-B#)+
c4?+?*)0'1%e )** #%)7-&7e '&4*?D'&B B#)D?)0'-&d
200 200 200 200
Less than 1 year 2 2 2 2
1 year 3 3 3 3
2 years 1
3 years 0 1 2 2
4 years 1 6 8
5 years 1 3 3 5
6 years 0 2 5 5
years 0 0 2 3
8 years 2 3 3 3
9 years 0 0 2 2
10 years 0 0 1 2
10 2 3 42
1he total in 2009 represents all those who withdrew during the years
reported ,i.e., each year includes those who withdrew in the preious
year,s,.,

Light o those who withdrew ,20, had been in the program or 4 years. Seen ,18, had
been in or 2 years.
Aerage ,mean, tenure in program is 4.5 years.
Median tenure is 4.1 years.
Modal tenure is 3.5 years.

>%)#7 '& (#-B#)+ .-# Q5-7% ,5- X%.0 05% (#-B#)+
c4?+?*)0'1%e %O4*?D'&B B#)D?)0%7d
200 200 200 200
Less than 1 year 2 2 2 2
1 year 3 3 3 3
2 years 1 4 4 4
3 years 0 1 2 2
4 years 1 5 6
5 years 1 3 3 4
6 years 0 2 2 2
years 0 0 2 3
8 years 1 1 1 1
9 years 0 0 1 1
10 years 0 0 0 0
9 21 26 29
1he total in 2009 represents all those who withdrew during the years
reported ,i.e., each year includes those who withdrew in the preious
year,s,.,


!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 12
Aerage ,mean, tenure in program ,excluding graduates, is 3.8 years.
Median tenure is 3.5 years.
Mode tenure is 3.5 years.

!"#
!$#
"%#
&"#
&&#
%!#
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
80
90
100
Lnrollees 1hose Leaing-All
Reasons
1hose Leaing-Loss o
Interest
\%&D%# @&)*H7'7Y:;;S J-5-#0
Male
lemale



CI@/M[ TMC XI@]=[\ (CM\C@K

:;;S J-5-#0 C%)7-&7 .-# X%)1'&B (#-B#)+

.. of
,1,200
.. of
,1,200
.. of
,0,200
.. of
,1,200
Graduation 1 6 11 13
Circumstances beyond child,amily control 4 6 10
Program didn`t hold them 2 9 13 13
Let to play another instrument 1 2 2 2
Not aailable 2 4 4 4
10 2 3 42


!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
80
90
100
As o
6,31,2006
As o
6,31,200
As o
6,30,2008
As o
6,31,2009
C%)7-&7 .-# :;;S J-5-#0 X%)1'&B (#-B#)+
c%O4*?D'&B B#)D?)0'-&d
NA
Dierent instrument
Lack o interest
Circumstances



0
6

14

5
2
1
2
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Less than
1
1 to 1.5
years
2 to 2.5
years
3 to 3.5
years
4 years 5 years 6 years years 8 years 9 years
g

-
.

7
0
?
D
%
&
0
7
[?+9%# -. >%)#7 '& (#-B#)+ )0 I&#-**+%&0 '& (5)7% ==


O the 45 students who participated in Phase II, were in the program or a period o time
and then went back to Phase I. O those , 5 were in the program or less than one year, 1
remained or 1.5 years, and another was in Phase II or almost 3 years.
Male students are more likely than emale students to remain actie in Phase II programs -
while 1 o those who enroll are emale, only 59 o those who are currently actie are
emale.
Most students who enroll in the Phase II program hae participated or 3 to 3.5 years ,14
out o 45, or 31,.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 11
KW/=J=@[/3=(

\e deined musicianship as haing our dimensions: practice, musical knowledge, inolement in
music, and quality o musical perormance ,both technical proiciency and expressieness,.

1he data rom the lesson-based interiews between students and teachers presents the ollowing
picture o how CM\ students` musicianship deelops. ,1he chart presents mean scores or each o
the our dimensions by phase.
19
,

K?7'4')&75'F /4-#%7 9H (5)7% "%0)'*7 -. /4-#'&B


@#%) (5)7% K%)&

Practice
I .4
II .96
III 1.6


Knowledge
I .68
II 1.24
III 2.11

Musical
Inolement
I .6
II 1.2
III 1.89


Quality
I 1.20
II 1.
III 3.00





1here is a distinct, but uneen, progression in students` understanding o the role o practice rom
Phase I to Phase III.
20
\oung people oten reported: 1, that they elt they were not as good as they
should be, 2, that they know practice improes their playing, and 3, that currently they do not
practice enough to be getting better. loweer, as the graph shows, Phase II students do not progress
much beyond Phase I.

Students` leels o musical knowledge and musical inolement deelop steadily throughout the
phases o the program. By Phase II, students possessed undamental knowledge o the mechanics o
their instrument and how it was played, by Phase III, this knowledge had expanded to include an
understanding o musical concepts and terms ,e.g., time signature, key signature, tegato, etc.,.

1he depth o student inolement rom Phase I to III underwent a similar steady progression, with
students able to ocus on and identiy speciic exercises they had practiced by Phase II, and
becoming increasingly engrossed in practice and actiely seeking out new and more challenging
pieces by Phase III.


19
Note that in the case o musical quality, i the student did not perorm during their lesson interiew they were omitted
rom the analysis. 1his preented artiicial delation o scores that would hae resulted rom assigning these students scores
o 0.
20
lor musical inolement and knowledge, dierences in mean scores among all three groups were signiicant at the leel
o .06. In the cases o practice and quality, only the dierences between Phase III and Phases II and I were signiicant.
Put alternatiely, in terms o practice and quality o playing, Phase I and II students cannot be distinguished rom one
another.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Practice Knowledge Inolement Quality
@#%)
K
%
)
&

/
4
-
#
%
Phase I ,n~55, Phase II ,n~15, Phase III ,n~3,
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 1:
linally, the quality ratings showed uneen progression. I children played during their lesson, they
were rated as elementary, intermediate, or adanced, based on their technical expertise and the
expressieness o their playing. 1he data show that ov arerage, children in Phase I play slightly aboe
the elementary leel, Phase II students are playing at slightly below the intermediate leel, and Phase
III students are adanced.

1he qualitatie data proide deeper insight into how musicianship deelops or young people
enrolled in CM\. lor instance, a close look at students` diary data shows that, on aerage:

lor Phase I students and less engaged Phase II students their lesson and practice are oten
one in the same, outside o lessons, practicing only peaks around Perormance Parties.

Students begin intensie practicing outside o lesson practicing or inenting their own ree-
time musical actiities ,e.g., getting together to play with riends, jamming,` etc., i they
become ery engaged in Phase II and proceed to becoming Phase III students. 1he diary
rom one highly engaged Phase II player shows what this looks like:

,5%#% @40'1'0H 3-6 X-&B^ ,'05
3-6
#%B?*)#*H^
lome Breakast - Ate a bowl o cereal lamily

Got mysel and brother ready or
church
Listened to music on my stereo

About 30 min
lamily
Listen eery
day when I get
ready
Church
,Bethel,
\ent to church
Serice - I played iola
11:00 - 1:30
lamily
Congregation
1wice a
month

Mother had meeting, watched my
brother play outside
Listened to iPod
1:30 - 2:30
lriend`s
house
1ook my instrument, she plays
too, we played music, then
watched 1V with her little sister
About 3:00
30 - 45 min
Another
riend, a cellist,
was going to
come
Get together
to play about
once eery
two months
lome
Got on lacebook with CM\ and
others - a riend rom CM\ got
me on last summer
About 30 - 45
min
Lery day

Dinner - \e talked about the
concert on Saturday, I had a solo
on Saturday, so we were
relecting on how people thought
I did
10 - 15 min lamily
\heneer I
perorm

Got ready or school
\atched M1V
About 30 min
Listened to music on stereo About 30 min Lery day

\hen this kind o inented or independent musical actiity occurs, it can become a major ocus o a
student`s identity: what distinguishes them, what gies them courage and a sense that they can go
places` they may neer hae imagined beore. 1his is clearly uel or students` sense that they belong
to a long line o musicians, across times and continents:

^or av ror/ivg ov a 1iratai iece. !bev begav, ra. rorriea covta vot ta, it. ^or
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
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av ;v.t tbrittea ritb it. !bev ta, va/e a tittte .tor, iv v, viva cattea Covcerto. 1be
.tor, tive .tart. fa.t. ivagive avtiqve bor. goivg fvriov.t,, feet ;vv, ov accovvt of it.
1iratai i. ti.tevivg; cav ictvre biv, ratcbivg att tbe ta,er.. e i. ;vv, too, to .ee att tbe
ta,er. tbere. .ee tbe otitic. of tbe tive; a tot of tbe i..ve., tbe covvov ava tbe ricb eote att
ti.tevivg to tbe vv.ic. tr, to ta, it a. ev;o, it a. if to va/e tbev ev;o, it.
. graavativg CM! .tvaevt

1his is exactly the kind o motiated and expansie musical actiity that yields practicing which, in
turn, yields a sense o progress and excitement. 1hereore, an important question is low can this
kind o engagement occur or een more participants and at younger ages` Students` diaries and
interiews contain important hints about the kinds o eents and circumstances that stimulate
musical actiity outside o CM\ lessons and perormances:

\hen other youth ,e. g., cousins or older role models, are playing beyond what is required.
lor example, a number o young people spoke excitedly about the work that they put into
preparing or the Anthem` concert, when students o many ages and abilities all
collaborated on producing an original piece in celebration o President Obama`s election.

\hen the music becomes a git` to someone who matters, or instance, making a tape to
send to a relatie who loes music or who got the student started playing.

At aith-based eents where musical expression is highly alued as part o worship ,e.g.,
instrumental playing as part o the meditation in a serice, perorming to support a choir, or
being part o a congregation`s celebration o youth or summer retreat,.

1hese are potentially important clues about how and when young people, een as beginners, might
be stimulated to see their music as important beyond the demands o lessons and perormances.

Below is one parent`s map o the high and low points in her daughter`s three-year career at CM\. It
proides a look at the kinds o experiences that can motiate young players ,and their amilies, to
work hard at deeloping their musicianship:

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685FCE'B 'H8E:$
Personal agency combines elements o sel-esteem and sel-monitoring along with the grit` and
strategies to pursue a goal. lor example, a student may hae the goal o playing a particularly
challenging new piece at the next perormance party. But wishing isn`t perorming. Reaching her goal
takes:

Sel-esteem: I she judges hersel to be a good-enough iolinist, she will see hersel as equal
to the challenges o the piece.

Belie tied to action ,i.e., actually practicing, so that she can master the piece.

Insight: She has to be able to ealuate her own progress towards mastery, iguring out
exactly what and how to practice so that her hard work makes the dierence she is hoping
or.

Personal agency matters. 1his kind o persistent and thoughtul eort, as much as raw talent, is what
makes or human achieement, in music and in many other ields.

By looking closely at our aried sources o data, we can see the pattern o deelopment or agency in
the students at CM\. Below are the results or the lesson-based interiews:

@B%&4H /4-#%7 9H (5)7% "%0)'*7 -. /4-#'&B


@#%) (5)7% K%)&

Sel-esteem
I .99
II .93
III 1.83
Sel-
monitoring
I 1.12
II 1.52
III 2.22










Again, while there is an oerall deelopment, that growth occurs uneenly. Phase I students scored at
Leel 1on sel-esteem, indicating that on aerage they saw themseles as okay` or pretty good`
instrumentalists. 1his is realistic since students are still learning to play a diicult instrument.
Similarly, they hae only a modest range o ways to monitor and improe their playing. Chiely, i
they make a serious mistake or umble, they begin again at the beginning o the piece.

0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Lsteem Monitoring
@#%)
K
%
)
&

/
4
-
#
%
Phase I ,n~55, Phase II ,n~15, Phase III ,n~3,
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 1
On aerage, howeer, Phase II students did not respond dierently than Phase I students.
21
In act,
they scored slightly lower than Phase I students on sel-esteem, and oten accompanied this sel-
assessment with the obseration that they were not as good as they should be, gien the amount o
time they hae been in the program:

.bovta be better, cov.iaerivg bor tovg `re beev ta,ivg.

av vot rogre..ivg a. vvcb a. .bovta be.

As a group, the Phase II students` sel-monitoring skills were only slightly better than their younger
peers. Many o them describe their practicing in terms like these:

figvre cav .to racticivg if cav get frov tbe fir.t vote to tbe ta.t.

Cettivg att tbe ra, tbrovgb tbe iece ritbovt barivg to .to ava .tart agaiv.

1hey think o their progress in terms o:

. barivg tovger iece., ritb vore ava fa.ter vote. to ta,.

1his changes among highly engaged Phase II students and Phase III students. At that point
indiiduals begin to think hard about what constitutes playing well:

1bovgb baa ta,ea iv av orcbe.tra before, got v, roice vv.icatt, ta,ivg at CM! va,be
,ov covta .a, got certaiv referevce. abovt bor I ravtea to ta,. reatt, ravtea to ere..
v,.etf tbrovgb tbe vv.ic vot ;v.t ovt of tbe boo/.
. graavativg CM! .tvaevt

1hey also begin to think and act in ways that would get them to the goals they set. lor example:

be reatt, ravtea to avaitiov for tbi. otber orcbe.tra. be .evt aov`t /vor bor vav, ree/.
gettivg reaa, racticivg a tot at bove. be a./ea ve if rovta arire ber rbev tbe aa, cave.
.tt tbe ra, tbere covta tett .be ravtea it to go rett. Dririvg bove .be ra. ai.aoivtea, .be
aiav`t tbiv/ .be ta,ea rett evovgb. !e tat/ea att tbe ra, bove abovt bor va,be it ra.
better tbav .be tbovgbt, bor .be covta atra,. tr, agaiv.
Cravafatber of a CM! .tvaevt

As with the earlier case o musicianship, these data raise the question about what could happen early
in students` careers at CM\ that would help them deelop their personal agency as musicians, een
as they struggle with mastering a stringed instrument. 1here are important hints in amilies` and
students` interiews.

Around the esteem issues, a segment o both students and amilies described wanting a clearer sense
o progress, particularly in the stretch between the early burst o excitement o getting an instrument
and playing a irst song and the regularly marked achieements o being a late Phase II or III player:

e ra. rer, ecitea rbev be .tartea to ta,; re att rere. !e baa a cetebratiov rbev be covta
ta, bi. fir.t reat iece. vt vor it feet. ti/e tbivg. bare teretea off. e ba. beev ta,ivg tbe

21
Only the mean scores or Phase III students were signiicantly dierent , .05, than those or students in Phases I or II
in the areas o sel-esteem and sel-monitoring.
!" $%& '() *+,-./0 1%2/ 34) 5.043 6+347 '/ 89+,&+3.%/ %" :%;;&/.3< =&>.?*%(->
!otfrorv Page 1
.ave iece. for a tovg tive. Rigbt vor be ba. ove tbat be baa ta.t ,ear. e ba.v`t gottev a
cbavce to ao av,tbivg bvt ta, iv tbe big ev.evbte at erforvavce.. aov`t ravt biv to to.e
ivtere.t or get to tbiv/ivg be`. vo gooa. /ee tbiv/ivg rbat are tbe .vatt .te. covta oivt
to, or rbat are tbe ver tbivg. be covta be aoivg. /vor it`. bara, .tor ror/, bvt be veea.
vitevar/er., ,ov /vor.
Parevt of a CM! .tvaevt

lamilies also want to know how they can do more than insist on a regular time or practicing. 1hey
hae a sixth sense that practicing and playing take explicit musical strategies. 1hey want to be able to
dig into` the music-making:

tore tbat .be ta,.. vt av vot a vv.iciav. !bev .be get. ivto a bara tace, att cav tett
ber i. to tr, agaiv. Or to vt it aorv ava cove bac/ to it tater rbev .be i. vot .o frv.tratea.
ot. of tive. ri.b baa otber .vgge.tiov..

ti/e ti.tevivg rbev tbe, ta, - it va/e. ve ba, tbat tbe, are aoivg tbi. vv.ic ava tbat
tbe, are aoivg it togetber. vt verer got to ta, rbev ra. grorivg v. o aov`t /vor rbat
to .a, or to a./ ritb tbev. ;v.t cav .a,, ^ice. or Yov bare beev ror/ivg .o bara. vt
votbivg vore. bare beev tbiv/ivg tbat va,be veea te..ov. iv te..ov..
- Parevt of a CM! .tvaevt

6'5@!:!6'@!EH !E ' *!185 *C5B1
1hroughout the ealuation, we thought about participation in two ways:

Building a CM\ community o support or young people`s deelopment that included both
amilies and mentors. One o the responsibilities o this community was to use music and
music-making as a way to change how young people thought about themseles and their
aspirations or the uture.

Connecting young people to a network o wider musical experiences that would, in turn,
connect them to a world broader than their neighborhood and to a set o changed
expectations or their lies.

1he lesson-based interiews proide basic inormation on CM\`s work at constructing a supportie
community that would help students enture orth into a wider world.
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/?FF-#07 .-# J-&&%40'&B 0- ,'D%# ,-#*D 9H (5)7% "%0)'*7 -. /4-#'&B


@#%) (5)7% K%)&
lamily
Inolement
I .63
II .56
III .6
Broader
Aspirations
I .5
II 1.02
III 1.28

Mentoring
I .91
II 1.20
III 1.6








Students described their amilies as inoled in supporting their music in a number o ways:
transporting them, making special arrangements at work to make time or lessons, sitting with them
to practice, and coming to eents, een bringing members o the extended amily. 1here were
instances when a parent would actiely aid in the child`s practice or a sibling would join a child to
play, but these were exceptions. As described earlier, many amily members eel as though they do
not hae the resources, in terms o time or musical knowledge o their own, to do more than to
monitor their child`s practice.

Ratings o quality o the mentoring relationship between student and teacher were high oerall and
displayed signiicant dierences across phases.
22
1he aerage score o Phase I students, which was
slightly below 1, indicates that there was some basic rapport between teacher and student. By Phase
III, students were approaching a mean score o 2, indicating that there is a clear bond between
teacher and student. Not captured in this aggregate data are the occasions in which the student
clearly regarded the teacher as an adisor and conidant, or topics ranging ar beyond music.

Students` scores or broader aspirations were surprisingly low. lere a score o 1 indicates that a child
played to aoid embarrassment in a lesson or perormance party or because they elt like playing.
Scores o 2 and aboe ,e.g., to get them somewhere,` be it in a community orchestra in the short-
term or a competitie college, were rare. 1his could be due to the way the questions were asked.
Alternatiely, these results may hae to do with the act that this question taps an unmapped`
territory. As members o a irst generation o musicians in their amilies, young people at CM\
simply may not hae a ery clear map o what speciic opportunities are out there somewhere.`
Possibly CM\ teachers and mentors could begin to ill in this territory or young people by more
regularly and explicitly discussing and connecting students to experiences outside the neighborhood.

lelping students to build portolios that track their accomplishments in and outside o
CM\.


22
Dierences among means or mentoring were signiicant across all groups , .05,. 1here were no signiicant
dierences among groups or amily inolement, and only the mean or Phase I was signiicantly dierent rom Phases II
and III or broader aspirations.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
lamily Inolmt. Aspirations Mentoring
@#%)
K
%
)
&

/
4
-
#
%
Phase I ,n~55, Phase II ,n~15, Phase III ,n~3,
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Creating eents in which older students share their journeys into the wider world with
younger students.

Posting graphics o those journeys on the website, so that other amilies can see how it is
done.

A comment by an audience member at a perormance party makes the potential power o illing in
this territory ery clear:

1oaa, at tbe covcert .ar tbe girt rbo baa beev bere for vive ,ear., ava .be got tbi. .cbotar.bi ava .be
i. fvrtberivg ber eavcatiov, rbetber or vot tbe .cbotar.bi. cove. frov ber beivg bere atove or vot. t
revivaea v, frieva`. aavgbter, tbe ove cave to .ee. v vive ,ear., .be vigbt be iv tbe .ave .ot,
graavativg ritb a .cbotar.bi. Ma,be ,ov aov`t /vor. 1bat ra. v, farorite. eeivg .oveove .tic/ ritb
tbe rograv for vive ,ear.. t i. are.ove, after vive ,ear., cottege i. votbivg.
rieva of a CM! favit, rbo cave to a erforvavce art, to .ee a .tvaevt erforv

Students` diaries and maps proide more detailed inormation about how this system o supports
allows students to connect to a wider world. lirst, it is clear that CM\ is a community that acts as
both a haen and a springboard or students at all leels ,see personal sketch on the ollowing page.,
At the same time there is striking deelopmental eidence about the ways in which younger and less
engaged students, as compared to older students, use CM\ to connect to a wider world ,see
diagrams,.






























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Students` maps o what CM\ has connected them to help to explain how haing a springboard
and,or haen allows them to know about and explore the wider worlds that lie beyond their amily
home, neighborhood and school. 1he illustrations below show maps typical o two groups o CM\
participants: 1, younger and less engaged students and 2, Older, more engaged students.

Q5% ,'D%# ,-#*DN
A 1ypical Younger or Less Lngaged Student's Map
























Q%)45%#c7d at
CM\ ,adults and
older students,
(%%#7: Other players at CM\
(*)4%7: Lessons,
perormance parties,
home and amily,
sometimes church
I1%&07: Special CM\ eent,s, ,perormance party at
church, Anthem perormance, DBR, memorable trip
or eent ,Bug Opera, opera moie,


Q5% ,'D%# ,-#*DN
A 1ypical Highly Lngaged Student's Map


(%%#7: Other CM\ players, in multiple roles:
,ensemble, mentor, model, riend, colleague,, other
players ,church, RIP\O, other ensembles, etc.,
Q%)45%#7 at and outside
o CM\ Lessons ,e.g.,
mentors, isiting
musicians, summer
programs, other
ensembles like RIP\O,
(*)4%7N CM\, concerts,
eents, as well as additional
sites: church, other music
enues, summer music
programs, \UGA, etc.
I1%&07N Special CM\ eent,s, ,perormance party at
church, Anthem perormance, DBR, memorable
concert trips or eents, a. actire articiavt. ava
covtribvtor.






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\ounger and less engaged students portray CM\ as the center o a set o radiating direct
connections to peers, teachers, perormance enues, and pieces o music. 1hese pictures illustrate
how their time at CM\ is teaching that an enterprise like music is undamentally social and how
others contribute to their emerging skills. At the same time, their maps contain no ideas or actiities
beyond music. Nor do their maps branch to indicate that CM\ connected them to something or
someone else, where, in turn, they went on to explore dierent relationships, actiities, or ideas.

By comparison, older, more engaged CM\ students make ery dierent kinds o maps.
Characteristically, their maps branch, showing how CM\ has placed them within a dynamic
network, where musical actiities connect them to other art orms, political action, or thinking about
what happens or them ater high school.

Looking at a speciic example o data rom a highly engaged student demonstrates what these
connections can mean at the leel o a single adolescent`s lie. lere is the map o extended
connections drawn by a highly engaged Phase II student. It includes a network o musical links as
well as ties to \UGA ,\outh United or Global Action,, an international social action group to
which peers at CM\ introduced her.

3'B5*H %&B)B%D (5)7% II student's network of connections






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Phase II student's network of connections, cont.



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F8:@!CE F!I7
58:C==8E1'@!CEF
Photo credit: Jori Ketten
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CM\ aects the musicianship, agency, and connectedness o it students in many remarkable ways.
1here are two core questions or CM\ at this moment:

low can more students become engaged at the leel where their musicianship, agency, and
connectedness are lastingly aected

low can the organization do this demanding work and still allow its members to lourish as
teachers, perormers, writers, and thinkers

:L'BB8EH8F DC5 :=*
1he data collected in this ealuation underscore seeral speciic challenges:

I&#-**+%&0 )&D (%#7'70%&4%N Such remarkable outcomes or young people depend on
students enrolling early, becoming highly engaged, and persisting in the program. But the
enrollment data point out that CM\ students enroll as string players at relatiely late ages,
with 30 o the cohort enrolling between the ages o 10 and 12. Moreoer, during high
school students are more likely to drop out oluntarily.

K?7'4')&75'FN Samples o students playing in lessons suggest that a number o CM\
students are technically young or the number o years that they hae been playing ,in
intonation, rhythm, ingering, etc.,. 1his is most pronounced at Phase II. 1his raises the
question o how to create social settings or compelling motiations or these students to
help them inest the time and deelop the strategies that would allow them to make
signiicant and motiating progress on their instruments.

(%#7-&)* @B%&4HN Students across phases hae a limited sense o what they can do to make
a dierence in their playing. 1hey don`t know how to practice in ways that make a dierence
or how to talk about where they are struggling. 1he data on students` inolement and
inestment in practicing and playing show a dip between Phase I and later Phase II and III
engagement. 1here is a time when students report losing interest or sense o progress. 1hese
indings suggest that particularly during the long haul` o deeloping the manual and
musical skills or playing well, students may need a more articulated sense o what they can
do to progress, as well as clearer markers o their deelopment.

()#0'4'F)0'-& '& ) ,'D%# ,-#*DN A challenge or CM\ is how to translate the intimate
deelopmental network ,i.e., students, amilies, and teachers, into a set o wider
opportunities or increasing numbers o students. lamilies describe how hard it is to do
more than lessons and practicing when their seeral children are also inoled in sports,
debate, or step classes. Some Phase I and less engaged Phase II students describe additional
opportunities such as concerts trips like homework: something that has to be done.

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:=*
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More than hal ,54, o students in the 2005 cohort hae persisted in the program - a retention rate
that is remarkable or a classical music program in a city where economies requently orce amilies
to be highly mobile. Len so, there are steps CM\ should consider taking:

Lnrolling students at younger ages in order to gie them the time to deelop the skills
that will let them progress. 1his data points out that CM\ students enroll as string
players at relatiely late ages, with 30 o the cohort enrolling between the ages o 10
and 12.

lelping older students to persist een though there may be strong competition rom
high school actiities and other demands.

Collecting exit data when amilies and students leae the program.
23


KW/=J=@[/3=(

CM\ seeks to share a distinctie kind o musicianship. \hile its primary goal is not to prepare
proessional musicians, the program does aim to gie students the rewards o working hard on a
challenging skill, deeloping a leel o personal expression, becoming a contributing member o a
community, and understanding that music can be a powerul orce in the lie o indiiduals and
communities. 1o make this possible or more students, CM\ should consider:

Creating an articulated map o expectations, skills, and possibilities or each phase o
work at CM\ that can be shared with aculty, ellows, amilies, and students.

Inesting in workshops with skilled teachers o young string players or aculty, ellows,
and mentors, with an emphasis on strategies that work as early as Phase I.

Deeloping social orms o practice that support progress ,e.g., times and places where
students can practice together, get help learning how to practice eectiely, and learn
rom older students and young adults working on pieces,.

Continuing work with amilies so that they can support, enjoy, and extend practice
outside o lessons.


23
An eort to examine comparison data rom other community-based music programs reealed that most institutions track
enrollment, but not persistence.
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1his set o skills catches ire in highly motiated Phase II and III students. 1he challenge is how to
build these skills and habits earlier and more widely by:

Building a more actie role or students in their own musical deelopment ,e.g., picking
next piece rom a range o appropriate choices, announcing selections and what to listen
or at Perormance Parties, making entries in their portolios, etc.,.

Continuing lesson-embedded interiews to support mutual relection and goal-setting
between teachers and students.

Building a system o electronic portolios that help students to chart progress ,music
samples, interiews, short releant samples rom Perormance Parties, and yield year-
end albums.`

Creating paid roles or Phase III students to assist in this work, learning releant musical
and technical skills.

(@CQ=J=(@Q=M[ =[ @ ,="IC ,MCX"

1hese capacities are a distinguishing eature o the programs at CM\, expanding the scope o
outcomes beyond what is sought by many other music education programs. Currently, a small group
o students realize these outcomes. 1he challenge or the organization is to begin to build these
capacities earlier, more explicitly, and in a wider number o young people. In combination with the
strategies outlined aboe, additional actions could include:

Building on eents like this year`s composition and perormance o an original piece in
honor o President Obama`s election. It proided many students with a close-to-home
introduction to the wider world.

Lxpanding the range o places where CM\ students can play through aith-based
organizations, schools, neighborhood estials, etc.

Lxpanding partnerships with other organizations where older students can play ,e.g.,
Philharmonic Music School, Rhode Island \outh Philharmonic Orchestra, Apple lill,
Bay Chamber Concerts, etc.,.

Seeking and more widely distributing opportunities or Phase II and III students to
present the work o the organization, through attending lie eents or through
producing web-based materials.

Inesting in workshops or partnerships that will allow students` documentary work to
mature and improe so that they can contribute relections to the website, produce
materials or \ou1ube, etc., at an increasingly high leel o quality.

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1aking on the work outlined aboe will require considerable organizational and community support.
Sta, Board members, and amilies will hae to:

8?'*D .)+'*HY9)7%D +?7'4')&75'FN Many amilies want to be better able to support the
musical aspects o practicing ,e.g., questions to ask, strategies, website or CM\ CDs o what
the pieces sound like played well or in a ariety o styles,approaches, etc.,. CM\ could work
with amilies to create community-based opportunities or young peoples` playing ,aith-
based serices, amily eents, CDs to send to distant relaties, etc.,.

I70)9*'75 +%D') F)#0&%#75'F7 .-# D-4?+%&0'&B D%1%*-F+%&0N CM\ would beneit
rom an alliance with a strong media partner that could help the organization design and
implement electronic musical portolios or students, as well as creating internships or older
students. 1he purpose would be to record indiidual student deelopment, support their
relection, and allow them to share their musical work ,playing, composing, writing liner
notes, with others.

/0).. .-# ) D'..%#%&0')0%D F#-B#)+N I these inestments yield younger students enrolling
and higher numbers o students persisting into Phases II and III, the organization may well
need to think in terms o more explicit specialization in aculty and ellows, with some
indiiduals concentrating on early years and others ocusing on more mature young
musicians.

J#%)0% -&B-'&B D)0) 7H70%+7N As a part o annual intake and year-end interiews with
students and amilies, it is important to build stronger ongoing data collection systems that
regularly capture inormation ,e.g., grades, course enrollments and electies, auditions and
additional musical actiities, orms o personal or community serice, etc.,. 1ogether with
persistence data, this would proide the oundation or ongoing relection on the program
and or possible larger scale comparisons on a range o indicators ,e.g., comparisons with
other neighborhood students who also attend Proidence Public Schools., 1his inormation
would be an ongoing resource or talking about the program with unders.

J-**)9-#)0% )&D *%)#& .#-+ ) &%06-#A -. 4-**%)B?% -#B)&'_)0'-&7N In Proidence, CM\
has strong organizational colleagues ia the Proidence \outh Arts Collaboratie. 1here is
also a growing network o music-speciic colleagues engaged in similar youth deelopment
and community-building work, including seeral sister organizations that, like Community
Music\orks, were eatured by Chamber Music America as Seen Stars` in the arts
education ield. 1wo o these programs were directly inspired by CM\. Regular exchanges
with these programs will be ital to both problem-soling and innoation.

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Acting on the aboe recommendations will take time, relection, and resources - een as CM\ has
programs to run, new ellows to welcome, and other initiaties to undertake. \ith that in mind,
together the Board and sta might consider using the ealuation as a stimulus to discussion,
designing options, and making choices. Critical steps in such a process might include:

lold discussions on key points designed to deelop a prioritized list o which
recommendations are the most urgent and easible in the 2009-2010 year and across the next
three years, and

Lnsure that the strategic plan or the organization aligns with or working toward the key
recommendations that are selected or pursuit.

Continue to share and substantiate these indings through regular ealuations that can index
progress in all the areas highlighted in this report.

Lxpand the indices o student success to include dimensions such as academic achieement,
community serice, and enrollment in additional orms o music education.

Deelop strategies to ollow up with graduates o the program ollowing their later
deelopment as students, musicians and concerned citizens.


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Photo credit: Sebastian Ruth CM\ Phase III member lidelia Vasquez trying
out \o-\o Ma`s cello during a isit to a Silk
Road Project rehearsal.