About Seward:
Seward Montessori, a Minneapolis Public School offers three levels of band and a jazz band. Although a struggle to maintain, our families and staff are very supportive of our band program. It is open to everyone. Students can rent instruments for a small fee, which is waived if a family is unable to pay. Students participate in weekly small group lessons and large concert band rehearsals. Some play piano and orchestral instruments as well. Our band director, Mike Robinson, is an encouraging leader who has a great rapport with the students. Scott Johnson, of the extracurricular jazz band, will make you want to get up and dance with his lively, familiar jazz pieces. We have many parents and teachers who are musicians themselves and work hard to keep band alive in our thriving urban school. Kids love band at Seward. It helps them learn and gives them confidence. Please help keep the music playing at Seward Montessori School.

About Sanford:
Sanford Middle School is located in the Longfellow neighborhood of south Minneapolis and serves a diverse population of 380 sixth through eighth grade students. Thanks to a committed staff and active parent involvement, the band program is alive and well at Sanford. Band is offered at Sanford as an elective five days a week.  With your support, we hope to have a jazz or small combo band program up and running soon under the direction of our band teacher, Scott Erickson.
Kids who study music do better in school and in life.

Learning to play a musical instrument is a rewarding experience for anyone at any age, but music is especially helpful to the development of all children. It develops mental skills, builds teamwork and is an activity that can bring joy for a lifetime. It can also help children be more successful in life.
Some food for thought:

Statistics indicate that if a child participates in music, he or she is likely to earn higher grades and score better on standardized tests. Now there is powerful evidence of a cause and effect link between music instruction and achievement.

A ten-year study, tracking more than 25,000 students, shows that music-making improves test scores. Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. Source: Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997