The Classroom Drum Circle Project

Since the fall of 2017, “The Classroom Drum Circle Project” has benefited and furthered education by providing K-5 students and students with disabilities a creative learning modality that offers differentiated music instruction opportunities for enhanced student growth. The program takes place at Los Cerritos, McKinley, and Webster Elementary Schools in Long Beach, California. The program offers students a hands-on approach to Music Education that is fun and helps to meet scholars at their zone of proximal development. Not only does drumming offer many educational benefits, but it also offers healing benefits in the avenue of music therapy.

The objectives of this advocacy initiative were firstly to acquire drum circle materials. Once drum circle materials were acquired, the next step was to highlight on social media, the publication “School News Roll Call,” and the official drum company website REMO.com, the benefits of drumming and music for students.

Part two of this advocacy initiative was to invite parents, the community, Long Beach Unified Board of Education Member Maria Isabel Lopez, and the Mayor of Long Beach to our “Drum Circle Booth” at our Los Cerritos Elementary School Centennial Celebration as a means of building community, as well as Decision Maker Engagement in seeing the value of music education in schools.

Students, parents, teachers, administration, community members, and the mayor of Long Beach were the focus because we are all in this together. A major Education issue teachers face today is the need to differentiate instruction to meet the social-emotional needs of all learners and to create activities that build positive relationships in the classroom. In recent years, there have been more cases of learners with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, emotional problems, and a lack of empathy, teamwork, and support between students. There has also been disrespect, aggression, and defiance by some students as they are unable to process their feelings towards teachers and students in the classroom and parents at home. Student exposure to trauma, poverty, and homelessness has contributed to the issue, as well as societal, political, student cell phone use, and social media addiction. Students also experience, lower attention spans, impatience, and impulsivity inside and outside of the classroom as a lack of the ability to self-regulate and calm themselves to be able to make responsible decisions. Drumming offers students a hands-on approach to Music Education that helps to meet scholars at their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1962).

Drumming offers, educational benefits in the learning modes: visual, auditory, and bodily-kinesthetic, but it also offers healing benefits in the avenue of music therapy. Through the “Drum Circle Project,” children as young as 4 years old are learning critical skills, such as sharing, turn-taking, and self-regulating. These skills are essential for the development of the whole child. These aptitudes will not only help them as they grow in elementary school, but will also assist them in lifelong readiness. Through Music, “harmony” is achieved as students develop empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and try to understand and manage their emotions.

Part one of this advocacy initiative began last school year when it was determined there was a need for materials. The music teacher has published an article in “School News Roll Call,” showing that drum circle materials for the classroom were needed, as we only had old, small percussion instruments, such as rhythm sticks, tambourines, and maracas. We secured a grant through the RuMBa Foundation of Long Beach and were able to purchase the “World Music Drum Pack.” Cesar Chavez Elementary School received the drum circle materials for the last week of school last year. This school year began as another article in “School News Roll Call” was published, showing the students with their drum circle materials and all of the amazing educational benefits students would be having. As a part of this advocacy initiative, we worked with Mike DeMenno at REMO to create an article that would be highlighted and unveiled during NAMM week in January. Remo put this feature out on their website, and also provided the link on social media. Also highlighted on the REMO website was a video created by the Long Beach Unified School District demonstrating the “Classroom Drum Circle Project”.

Part two of this advocacy initiative began when we were made aware that the mayor of Long Beach was going to speak at our centennial celebration. We used contacts at the Mayor’s office and were successful in having Mayor Rex Richardson participate in our “Drum Circle Booth.” (New Initiative) Mayor Richardson enjoyed seeing students perform on the drums firsthand, as well as the benefits drumming provides. We taught the mayor some beats, and we jammed together! Photos and a video were taken and posted on social media!

We received a grant from the RuMBA Foundation of Long Beach. Once we received the funds, we worked with REMO manager Mike DeMenno to order the drumming materials for the classroom. We knew we wanted to order the World Music Drum pack as the World Music Drum pack contains several drums like tubanos, djembes, as well as other world music instruments such as maracas, agogos, Dunduns, cowbell, and shakers that round out the drum circle sound.

Mike, being one of the co-founders of the “Beat the Odds” Drumming program, we knew how valuable partnering with him would be in helping other educators and Music educators provide drum circle activities and exercises with students in their classrooms and programs.

For the “Drum Circle Booth” at the Centennial Celebration, the music teacher contacted their previous student, who works at the mayor’s office, as well as a parent of a former student. We also sent an invitation to Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson directly via email. We also worked with the principal of our school and the school facilitator in deciding where to place the drum circle booth during the event. We also worked with our school custodian, who helped transport our drum circle materials from the auditorium to the playground. We also sent communication to parents and community members about our upcoming event.

Through knowledge of, the needs of my students, and the value drumming provides, we wrote a grant through the RuMBA Foundation of Long Beach. For the “Drum Circle Booth” advocacy initiative, we utilized relationships with classroom teachers, parents, administration, as well as the mayor’s office of Long Beach. We worked with the Los Cerritos Elementary principal to allow us to organize such a booth at our Centennial event. She was very supportive in allowing us to move ahead with “whatever was needed” to make the event successful.

We utilized relationships with different groups and organizations and tagged them to my social media posts on Facebook and Instagram. (Long Beach Unified School District, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National Association for Music Education, California Music Educators Association, GRAMMY Music and GRAMMY Museum, and Music for All)

We also utilized relationships with principals in allowing us to create “School News Roll Call” articles depicting the students with our drum circle materials and all of the amazing educational benefits students would be participating in.

$5,000.00 World Music Drum Circle Kit with shipping and handling.

One challenge was the storage of the instruments once we acquired them. Sharing the classroom space with the instrumental teacher-we had to work together in reorganizing and designating our individual general music instruments/orchestra band spaces.

It was also quite a challenge to move all of the drums out to the playground and set them up for the event. We relied on relationships with the custodian, as well as had a few student helpers assist me in making several trips back and forth to set up and break down our booth. Both challenges in part one and part two of the advocacy initiatives actually helped solidify musical partnerships that were already there.

These challenges turned into ways of working well with one another and as a way of helping to build relationships with staff and students.

In part one, all TK through 5th grade general education students, as well as students with disabilities at Cesar Chavez Elementary were able to participate in drumming activities with ngoma leader drum, tubanos, djembes, agogos, authentic maracas, African shekeres, wood blocks, Dunduns, and cowbells!

Our “Beat the Odds” drumming presentation at the Delta Kappa Gamma California state conference at the LAX Airport Marriott in May was a huge success. We received several high ratings on the feedback questionnaire from other music educators and educators on the many benefits that drumming provides.

It has been seen that through the drumming, students have been attuned to one another, and they have more camaraderie and fewer behavioral problems have been occurring at school. More students are getting along and experiencing more joy and laughter since the introduction of our drum circle activities.

Students, parents, teachers, administrators, Long Beach Unified School District Executive Staff, Board of Education Member Maria Isabel Lopez, Mayor Rex Richardson of Long Beach, and community members observed/and/or came over to the drum circle booth and enjoyed playing the small and medium djembes as well as small, medium, large tubano drums and ngoma leader drum. Students were able to sit side-by-side with their parents and play along as if they were in the classroom with them. We were able to show our entire community different playing techniques, and they were able to improvise their own beats on the drum as well. It was an enriching community/team-building experience for all.

Our school, music program, school district, and local community were positively impacted. Firstly, our students were positively impacted as each general classroom and each special education class participated in their own classroom drum circle. Students had so much fun improvising rhythm patterns on their drums that their classmates echoed, participated in singing, dancing, and even came up to be drum circle leaders. Students became attuned to one another through the drumming and the camaraderie, mutual respect, and teamwork acquired during the lessons have aided pupils in all areas of our school, including in their regular classrooms, on the playground, and in the cafeteria. Social-emotional learning skills such as listening, self-regulation, turn-taking, and mutual respect were gained by participating in the drum circle lessons.

The Los Cerritos elementary students enjoyed participating in our “Drum Circle Booth!” The location of our drums was next to the playground equipment, and students could easily come over and play the drums and then run over to the slides and other equipment and have a lot of fun celebrating our school’s Centennial.

Parents were also invited to participate in the drumming, and the teacher got to teach them about the drums, and they got to participate in our activities as well.

The mayor of Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson, also enjoyed the event. We showed him how to play the Ngoma leader drum. We worked on basic beats, some echo patterns, and tapped to the rhythm of the song that the DJ happened to be playing “Another One Bites the Dust.” He enjoyed the benefits drumming provides and realized that drums can be educational.

It is always important to partner and connect with boosters, PTA, and PTO, fundraising, and grants to help acquire funds to supplement your musical classroom.

It is also important to build relationships with vendor managers as they may be able to offer important deals and discounts.