Page 27 - The Song Room 2021 Year in Review

I was blown away to hear that the majority of students completed the arts activities I had supplied for the digital take home packs in Terms 3 and 4. Some students, who weren’t submitting work for any other subjects, would always submit their arts tasks!”
THE SONG ROOM TEACHING ARTIST,
WHITTINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, VIC
WHITTINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, VIC
IMAGE: THE SONG ROOM
CASE STUDY
Improved outcomes through continuity and collaboration
East Geelong in Victoria is an area of real need. Many schools in this region measure below the national benchmark on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICESA). ICESA measures the level of the school’s educational advantage and in some schools in the East Geelong area up to 81% of students are from the bottom quarter for socio-educational advantage.
The Song Room has been working with funders to support individual schools in this area for many years. The programs have provided impactful arts education to the schools but were often only viable for short six-month programs. Understanding that the greatest impact is made when we are in schools for a longer period we set about creating a clustered approach to funding with a truly supportive group of local, visionary community foundations who have made it possible for three Geelong schools to access sustained funding over three years.
Anthony Costa Foundation, Give Where You Live – Geelong, Geelong Community Foundation, Percy Baxter Charitable Trust and Perpetual Trustees collaborated to allow us to provide consistent delivery for Newcomb Primary School, Whittington Primary School and Geelong East Primary School.
The students now have regular Song Room sessions
to look forward to. Their music classes are a big reason many of these students come to school. Our cluster approach also connects schools and offers opportunities for shared lessons and performances. Having the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves, or their class, or even the whole school, is an opportunity that these students would miss out on if we were only working with them short-term.
Teachers are offered professional learning and have become part of a community of practice with other teachers in the area. They are growing a network
of colleagues, with similar experiences to them, to discuss issues and ideas. In this way we are creating sustainable arts programs and supporting cultural change across the schools.
The Song Room: 2021 Year in Review 27