Student’s music project now part of EF curriculum

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

Before leaving for college, a recent Elizabeth Forward graduate will spend the summer working with some of her former teachers to further develop a music class she researched and launched over the past two school years.

Bailey McLaughlin developed Partners in Music for her Capstone Research class her junior year as a companion course to Partners in P.E. and Partners in Art, which already paired regular education students and life-skills students at the high school. Bailey said she wanted to participate in the existing classes, but they never fit into her schedule.

When she saw Kodi Lee, a young man who is blind and autistic, perform on America’s Got Talent, she got the idea to develop a Partners in Music class.

“I knew I wanted it to be something meaningful,” she said. “I thought if I was going to spend a year of my life researching something, I wanted the research to be something people wanted to read. It’s supposed to add to the conversation.”

The research project went far beyond the talking stage, resulting in an actual class added to the high school curriculum this past year, with plans for it to continue and possibly expand to the middle school. That’s what Bailey will be working on this summer, along with high school band and orchestra teacher Steve Spang.

“I’m going to be collaborating with Mr. Spang over the summer and really trying to get the most out of this for everybody,” Bailey said.

During her junior year, Bailey coordinated 10 interactive music sessions, some using various percussion instruments and including music that appealed to the tastes of the participants.

“A lot of the kids really loved singing. The point of the project was not to learn music; it was to interact with peers,” Bailey said. “I wanted a place where they could build peer relationships and break down barriers. I’m not a music teacher or a music therapist, so it was a learning experience for me.”

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