| Tackling the Drop Out Crisis with Music |
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| Written by Jake Winterstein | |||
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Student organizers from Sayre, West Philadelphia, Bok, and CAPA, with the assistance of professional musicians and producers recorded “Pushed Out”: a musical story addressing the drop out crisis in Philadelphia. Based on true stories, the songs and accompanying interludes paint a picture that identifies the root causes of the Drop-Out Crisis and proposes solutions.
The project focuses on 3 songs integrated into one student’s story dealing with the nearly 50% drop out rate plaguing Philadelphia. Student members worked hard in the studio during their 2-month summer break. While working in the Studio students expressed their hopes for the project and the importance of making music. “What I hope to accomplish is for people to see that all students deserve the resources thy need to succeed—not just students at magnet schools.”- Simone, PSU Alum, CAPA High chapter “Personally I hope to create good music...conscious music that charges people with a task and hopefully they can get through that task.” - Khalif, West Philly High chapter “My voice, like my words and things that I say can actually influence people to stay in school even when it gets hard, and take responsibility for their education.” - Sylvia, CAPA High chapter “I hope to help make other stduents see that despite challenges, you can graduate.” -Candace, PSU Alum, Sayre High chapter The end result of a summer’s worth of hard work is an honest and moving CD that has been used to inspire and organize students to stay in school. Students have been using the CD as a recruitment and educational tool. With the help of supporters we will continue to copy and distribute the CD to over a thousand public high school students. Students have helped design a curriculum about the drop out crisis that engages young people in identifying causes of the crisis and creating student-driven solutions. This new curriculum is being used in classrooms and community centers across the city. The music team is back in the lab cooking up a new set of songs for the new year. Stay on the look out for our next CD! •
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