More music is ringing through the halls at Oakman Elementary School thanks to a grant.
The Save the Music grant has provided more than $70,000 worth of instruments, music stands and music books to the school to boost its instrumental music program. The district hopes to be able to repeat the grant over the next five to ten years at other elementary and possibly middle schools around the district.
Erin Faryniarz teaches music – vocal and instrumental – at Oakman Elementary. She learned of the grant during a professional development event at Wayne State University in 2023. After many meetings with Save the Music, she was invited to apply for a grant last fall.
The application process involves letters of recommendation, information about the district, and information about the current music classes offered, instrument inventory and staffing. Oakman’s application was finalized in January of 2024, and the school learned in March that it would receive one of Save the Music’s Core Band Grants.
In addition to the equipment, the district’s music department will receive free professional development from Save the Music, and in December, the organization is sending Faryniarz to the Midwest Music Conference, the largest music conference in the U.S.
Dearborn Public Schools has a long history of offering music education to students starting in elementary school. However, until a few years ago, students were often expected to provide their own instruments. Families still buy students their own plastic recorder for fourth grade. For optional instrumental music classes starting in fifth grade, many parents would rent instruments privately or from the school, if the instrument was available.
In recent years, the district has launched an effort to loan more instruments to students so that cost does not prevent students from learning to play music. However, the district’s instrument inventory is not able to keep up with demand, and some instruments are past their useful life.
The Save the Music Grant was able to provide Oakman with saxophones, clarinets, flutes, trumpets, trombones, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, mallets and sticks, beginning band books and stands/storage racks.
Donating an instrument
District community members who may have usable instruments they no longer need are invited to donate those to the schools. Please contact your neighborhood elementary, middle or high school or reach out to music resource teacher Dan Taylor at Fordson High School at taylord@dearbornschools.org.
All common band and orchestra instruments will be accepted including flutes, trombones, saxophones, trumpets, tubas, bassoons, French horns, clarinets, piccolos, oboes, violins, violas, basses, cellos and drums. Electric guitars and soprano or concert ukuleles are also being accepted. For logistical reasons, the district cannot accept pianos and keyboards.
For the last several years, the district has used funding from the Wayne County Enhancement millage to cover pay-to-play fees so students do not need to pay to participate in afterschool activities including jazz or marching bands.