Philadelphia is a city known for its impactful and unique music scene. From Pattie LaBelle to Meek Mill to Pink, Philadelphia has fostered a space for influential artists to grow.
Although the city is historically rich in music, the accessibility of music education remains an elusive privilege for numerous aspiring talents.
“Pennsylvania ranks 45th in the nation for equitable public education funding, with the Philadelphia School District spending roughly $15,000 per student,” State Senator Vincent Hughes said. Notably neighboring districts to the city, like Lower Merion, allocate over $20,000 per student.
From the late 1990s to the early 2010s music education funding cuts in public schools were on the rise. School boards and faculty members frequently referenced financial challenges as a rationale for schools eliminating music programs from the standard curriculum. Some schools pushed music education into enrichment and after school activities that are not always accessible to everyone.
Rock to the Future, an educational nonprofit, provides a space for children and teens to explore music to help them find their passion. The educational nonprofit serves about 1,200 students a year helping them academically and artistically.
“All of our programs focus on underserved communities with the goal of it all being free to every student that enters the space,” Kensington Site Director Victoria Watts said.
Rock to the Future impacts Philadelphia in numerous ways. It runs in school music programs for 14 schools where funding has been cut. Additionally, the organization has community-based programs where the employees go into community centers and bring in music programs for that area.
Along with implementing formal music education and community development, Rock to the Future has an after-school program, MusiCore, offered at Kensington High School and Roosevelt Elementary and Middle School. MusiCore provides tutoring and homework help to all students grades six through twelve, and SAT prep, professional development, and college resources to the juniors and seniors in the program.
“Rock to the Future has helped me escape a lot of the issues I have in my personal life,” Kensington Rock to the Future student Vanity Sasha Shimoyama said. “It takes away a lot of my stress from school and home.”
What makes Rock to the Future special is it provides so many resources to Philadelphia’s youth, and it’s all free to every single person who enters the space. After a student attends four Rock to the Future classes they can own their own guitar, freely provided by the organization.
“Once we give them their own instruments, they have time to practice at home and connect with their instrument and it really helps their passion and excitement grow for music,” said Watts.
Access to music education is a socio-economic issue. In 2012, Stanford University released a study that found that the funding gap between students of lower and higher-income areas has increased by 40% in the past sixty years.
In 2017, WHYY published an article titled Which Philly schools don’t have instrumental music? the main content of the article explained how Philadelphia is attempting to build back their music programs, but 51 schools did not have any sort of instrumental music instruction provided by the district.
Former City Councilwoman Helen Gym’s office released data which reported that the Philadelphia City School District has 66 itinerant instrumental music teachers who travel from school to school and 20 school-based instrumental music teachers.
The schools without instrumental music are concentrated in North and West Philadelphia. Throughout the entire school district, white students make up about 14.4% of the student body.
98% of Philadelphia schools without instrumental music, have a lower-than-average ratio of White students. In comparison, the schools that have at least 33 percent of the student body being White are the schools that have access to instrumental music education.
Within the Kensington area, the only way for a child to get an enriched music education is if they are enrolled at the Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School. The Kensington MusiCore program not only takes in students who attend Kensington High School, but teens travel from all different parts of Philadelphia to participate in the program.
Since 2010, Rock to the Future has provided accessible avenues for self-expression, academic development, and community engagement that not only enriches the lives of individual students but also strengthens the social unity of the entire city. The organization ensures that there is no financial burden to the students. They provide free Septa transit, food, and a collaborative academic music-based program.
Music is a universal language helping students connect with diverse cultures and experiences, fostering empathy and understanding.
“Teaching music is really fulfilling,” music instructor Artie Sadtler said. “I hope my students get joy from working with me and can find a way to better articulate their feelings and complex ideas through music.”
Music education is not merely an extracurricular activity; it is a vital component of a comprehensive education. Through music, children develop crucial skills such as discipline, creativity, and teamwork, which are all important assets for developing teens/children to learn.
“Music gives you a lens to view the world and helps you with things that are hard to understand and deal with,” said Rock to the Future music instructor Artie Sadtler. “Being in a creative space helps you to take emotions that you might not even know how to deal with and process it in a different way.”
In a world where the arts are often sidelined, organizations like Rock to the Future can remind people of the profound impact that music education can have on shaping the futures of our youth and building a more vibrant, inclusive, and creative society for generations to come.
Music education is important for Philadelphia’s youth because it nurtures well-rounded individuals who are not only academically proficient but also emotionally and socially adept, preparing them for a lifetime of fulfillment and contribution to the world we live in.
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