A local college has had some Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students singing a new tune.
The University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton has given students at participating DISD campuses more than 10,000 free virtual music lessons this past year and it is paying off.
“I saw leaps and bound with the students,” said Andrea Diggs, choral director at James Madison High School, according to DISD.
DISD had originally begun its Virtual Private Music Lesson Program in the fall of 2022. It was launched with the aims of increasing student musicianship, improving the quality of music education at participating campuses, and aiding in achieving student goals.
A total of 37 schools have enrolled in this program taught by UNT graduate students as well as faculty members. These participating schools were provided free lessons in choir, band, modern band, piano, and combinations of these.
The collaboration with UNT supports DISD students in a district where student achievement scores have suffered, with 57 of all campuses receiving a “D,” and 29 getting an “F” last year, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
It also matches up with what Casey Goldman, associate director for Community Outreach and Collaboration at the College of Music at UNT, called the mission to serve “our diverse musical culture with excellence, integrity, and imagination,” according to DISD.
At Madison James, the campus had gone a decade without a choir program before the program was launched.
The school’s program has since received multiple accolades in both concert and sight reading at University Interscholastic League performance competitions, with four of its nine students advancing to state-level contests.
“The voice lessons played an important role in making that happen,” said Diggs, according to DISD.
Marc Cervantes, band director for L.G. Pinkston High School, reported that his 30 students had also improved from the program, according to DISD.
Yet the takeaways, he noticed, have extended far beyond musical ability and performance.
“Not only does the program help them become better musicians, but they also are learning to advocate for themselves — a life skill that will help them in the future,” said Cervantes, according to DISD.
