On the morning of Dec. 2, 80 students in the Program for Exceptional Children (PEC), from across the district, performed in the Oak Hill Middle School theater during their concert, Sunny With A Chance of Music.
The group was made up of students from multiple grades from Midway Primary's Super Music Makers, Lakeview Academy's Rockland Eagles, Oak Hill Middle's Rockin' Braves and Colorful Braves, Lakeview Primary's Little Rascals and Rockin' Knights, and the Best Braves from Baldwin High School.
“Audiences were treated to a variety of different genres of music, some of them even rewritten to fit in with the show's overall weather theme.
It's Raining Tacos was perhaps the favorite, having been revised to include each of the children's favorite foods!” wrote Eric Jones, coordinator of school and community relations in a press release.
This concert was made possible through the music therapy program established by Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Noris Price in 2016.
Previously, Price worked with a music therapy program at her old school in Fulton County. Upon becoming superintendent, she saw potential in Georgia College & State University’s music therapy program to strengthen a partnership with the school.
“I strongly have a passion for the arts, and I believe in the value the arts play in providing a well-rounded education for students,” said Price. “I am proud that we are able to offer music therapy to our students and watch them perform each fall and spring.”
So, in January of 2016, Price met with Music Therapy Lecturer and Program Coordinator Katie Whipple about a partnership with GCSU.
Together they established a “bridging theory and practice” for the GCSU music therapy students and Baldwin County students with exceptional needs.
“It has been an incredible partnership,” said Price. “I call our partnership ‘bridging theory and practice’ because it allows her students the opportunity to practice what they are learning with actual students. Then, for our students with exceptional needs, it not only provides an educational value but assists in their social and emotional development.”
From its start, the program began working with a small number of classrooms. Seeing its major success, Whipple encouraged expansion of the program and in 2017 they incorporated high schools across the district. “Currently, we do seven different weekly therapy sessions. The GCSU music therapy students help with the weekly sessions and the performances,” said Whipple.
“The goal is to allow our students to observe and assist during a professional music therapy session.”
During the fall semester of Georgia College, about 10 music therapy students assisted with the weekly sessions. Third-year students actively engage with the PEC students through interventions and assisting with vocalization. First-year students focus more on relationship building, observing the session and assisting throughout the session.
“In these sessions we work a lot on relationship building, communication, vocalization, and overall engagement,” said Whipple. “For my older students, I give them more chances to intervene and lead so we can review engagement, strengths, and weaknesses after the session.
For my first-year students it is more about getting to know music therapy and what a session would look like. It's about creating a setting for them and building observational skills.”
Another essential lesson for both groups is allowing students to learn how to engage and interact with each other.
According to Whipple, these sessions are sometimes the first introduction for her students to work with someone with exceptional needs. Many of the PEC students also build primary social and developmental skills through the relationships made in each session.
“This partnership creates a safe environment for all the students to nurture their skills and work on improving them. It’s beneficial for both sides and a very positive experience,” said Whipple.
While Whipple leads the sessions, she also highly credits Clinic Coordinator Gabrielle Banzon, graduate assistant Caroline Miller and Director of Programs for Exceptional Children Christy Goforth. All of these individuals play a large part in planning the sessions and each semester’s concert.
“Without the contributions of these individuals and the support of Dr.
Price, music therapy would not be possible,” said Whipple.