As educators, we know we should include every child in our music programs, but too often, this is easier said than done.
Your already over-full classes aren’t conducive to beginners.
You don’t have any extra staff, and you certainly don’t have extra time.
Most of us have never received any training for teaching children with disabilities.
You might not know where to begin, what resources or curriculum to use, or who to ask for help!
And yet… there are so many children whose lives could be changed in a music classroom like yours.
9-15% of your school population receives special education services!
United Sound exists to bridge this gap. As music teachers ourselves, we knew we needed to create a program that could make including everyone work for every music teacher. How? Through the incredible power of peer mentorship.
WHAT WE DO
United Sound is a peer mentoring program for students with disabilities to get involved in music. Students teach one another and perform together - along the way, they make friends, learn about teaching and leadership, and learn to care and be cared for as never before.
We provide three main avenues of support:
#1 Training
We start by helping you to find a special education teacher-partner. Together, you both already have all the skills needed to make this easy. We’ll help you to feel ready to run the program and give you the tools to train your own students in their roles as mentors. You don’t have to know anything new to get the process started.
#2 Staffing
We can’t add employees to your program (wouldn’t that be great?!) but United Sound turns your students into teachers. Musicians as young as 6th grade, with just one year of experience themselves, are amazing mentors and friends.
#3 Curriculum
United Sound is an out-of-the-box solution. With method books, flash cards, training videos, permission slips, lesson plans, t-shirts, swag, and more, this will be one area of your teaching day where you won’t have to create anything. Think of it like a buffet: take whatever you’d like and leave some parts behind, but you don’t have to do any of the cooking.
To learn more
Check out our website: You’ll be able to watch students in action and preview the curriculum.
