Erwin Middle School teacher’s idea for ukulele orchestra for his students catches Queen Latifah Show interest

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This sounds like a great story. Press release here:

A local 7th grade teacher, Dylan Hewitt, has created a Kickstarter campaign to create a ukulele orchestra for his students at Erwin Middle School. The project has gained national attention; Hewitt was invited to make an appearance on the Queen Latifah Show to speak about his project.

Hewitt was inspired to give his students the chance to build confidence and originality through the orchestra. “One issue I have seen take hold of [my students] in the past couple years is an addiction to technology. They spend so much time staring at screens; their free time and money funnels into digital entertainment and new gadgets,” he shared. He turned to Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects, to raise the money for the instruments and recording. Queen Latifah is a big fan of Kickstarter and was inspired by his project, inviting him to appear on her show during a short interview. The show airs this Thursday, December 19th. Her producers are committed to following the progress of the orchestra throughout the spring, with the possibility of a performance on the show in late May.

More than 80% of students at Erwin Middle live below the poverty line, and thus do not have easy access to creative activities. This orchestra will give the chance for the students to express themselves in a meaningful way. Playing together, they will need to use their hands and their voices, cooperate to choose songs, and build confidence through performance. The Erwin students are thrilled at the idea of participating in the orchestra. “Please donate because we could bring a lot kids together and bond,” shared his student Desiree, and “please donate because many people would want to play the ukulele because it’s very interesting” stated 7th grader, Brooke.

The final goals of the project include local performances and a CD recording, capturing the work that the students will accomplish over the semester. “Creating a recording will empower my students by creating something tangible that is their own, that they can share with friends and family, that they can have as a remembrance of the value of creating something original,” explained Hewitt. The album will be completed by early June.

Despite the state of public education in North Carolina today, this teacher is standing up to make a difference and give his students a unique opportunity. Please consider donating to the campaign, giving local youth the opportunity to participate in an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

More from Hewitt’s Kickstarter page:

My goal is to begin this coming Spring semester and teach a group of about 20 students to be ready for performances at school events and recording.  I will work with the school community to recruit students that are not already involved in many extracurriculars.  More than 80% of my students live below the poverty line meaning there is a great opportunity to provide a very unique experience for my students.  Throughout the class, the students will work together to pick popular songs that they want to cover.  We will meet weekly to practice these songs in preparation to play at a few school events; the talent show, pep rallies, and a spring concert.  The students’ experience will culminate in the creation of a recorded CD. …

In order to get rolling in January, I need your help.  I’m hoping to start out with a small orchestral set of Ukuleles in different sizes.  The Ukuleles will also need extra strings, tuners, and cases to be properly maintained.  We will need music the students are interested in and a budget for recording.  With these tools, you can give my students the chance to express themselves in a meaningful way.  To record and perform.  To build confidence and originality.

3 Comments

Nate December 18, 2013 - 2:01 pm

This is an awesome project, and I definitely hope they achieve their fundraising goal. I wonder where they got the statistic that 80% of Erwin students live in poverty, though. If 80% of students at the school are receiving free or reduced price lunch, which is much higher than the 56.2% Buncombe County average but still possible, that doesn’t mean that all of those students are living in poverty. You’re eligible for reduced price lunch if your family makes 185% of the poverty level.

Given that the overall poverty level in Buncombe County for children under 18 was 24% in 2010, it would be *really* statistically unusual for one school to have a rate of 80% or more.

Jason December 19, 2013 - 4:15 pm

Yea no kidding…80% WTF…is this Detroit?

Jaime December 17, 2013 - 11:24 am

I love this!! I hope they reach their goal.

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