El Sistema, if you don't already know, is a music program designed to teach instrumental music to children from low-income households and in high poverty areas. Originally started in Caracas, Venezuela, children and families sign up for private and group music lessons with the goal of not only learning an instrument but to improve upon their lives through music. Starting with only 11 students in Venezuela in 1975, the El Sistema program has risen to world acclaim and now has over 400,000 students in programs in cities like New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and can be found in countries like Australia, the United States, and Brazil.
Living in Hoboken, New Jersey and teaching in a suburb near by, I get to see and teach students from a wide variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Hoboken itself has a wide variety of school options considering the entire city is only one square mile in size. From the public school district to your choice of four private schools and two charter schools, families (who mostly work in New York City) have a wealth of programs to choose from. Up the road (and pallisades) is the neighboring town of Union City, where the population is made up predominantly of minority home and lower income housing. The public school district recently built a brand new high school, but money has not been reinvested into the lower grade schools and their fine arts programs. Through the NAfME news feed I found out that Union City is the home to a new branch of El Sistema, providing a quality music education for the children who may not ever be able to learn to play an instrument and better their outlook for the future.
Hi Claire. What town are you in? I was born, raised and taught in Union City for years! I'm so pleased to see what's going on there today as Union City finally starts experience it's own Renaissance. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.
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