School-Community Links
Community support and involvement are vital ingredients to providing more Music in schools. However, it can be difficult for schools to involve the music community beyond the gates.
We have found some fantastic examples of school-initiated community collaborations, such as Pittwsorth State School using the community band (pictured) for their school musical, and Margaret River Primary School bringing in local musicians to help with the school's rock bands.
Virginia State School and Spring Head Lutheran School are reaching out to their community through inter-school events, community events within the school, community performances, and touring. Meanwhile, at Bellingen High School the local youth orchestra and Camp Creative are just some of the activities that use school facilities and contribute to musical life at the school.
Other programs are initiated outside the school, such as Hand in Hand - part of ANU School of Music's outreach program - which involves training teachers, bringing song to primary schools, and connecting school students with members of their community.
The Dandenong Ranges Music Council and Regional Conservatoriums such as Orange are community-based organisations with strong links to local schools, involving mutual collaborations with schools, responding to schools' needs, and facilitating other community music activity.
Case Studies
The Music Council has just released eight case studies of school-community links:
- Bellingen High School
- Dandenong Ranges Music Council
- Hand in Hand (ANU School of Music)
- Margaret River Primary School
- Orange Regional Conservatorium
- Pittsworth State School
- Spring Head Lutheran School
- Virginia State School
What we know about school-community collaborations
A piece by research Brydie-Leigh Bartleet on the benefits and potential of school-community collaborations. Read more
Research and Policy Context
If you're trying to convince your school, community group, local council or anyone else that schools can engage with their community through music, start with our simple outline of the research and policy reports on this subject. We know it's worthwhile because we've seen how effective this can be. We know it's important because the National Review of School Music, the Gonski Report, and Sound Links all say so. Read more
School Halls
We know that school halls and other facilities can be a great asset to the local community, including of course the musical community. We found a number of schools putting their new BER halls to good use. Read more, and stay tuned for more on this subject in early 2013.
If you require more information about any of these please contact the Music in Communities Network.
The School-Community Links project is an initiative of the Music in Communities Network and Music: Count Us In
