Our program is mainly geared towards the local middle and elementary schools who typically “feed” into our high school. Although one of our goals is to encourage kids to join the Capistrano Valley Instrumental Music program, we welcome anyone with an interest in music, regardless of school. We want to inspire a general love of music in young kids and hope that even if a mentee is not from a feeder school, they will consider applying to CVHS as their “school of choice.” In the long run, our goal is to help grow our music program with those who already share a passion for the music they play and a zeal to learn even more. In addition, although the program is catered to students at the middle and elementary school levels, many already at CVHS find solace in knowing there is a place where they are welcome to improve their skills through peer mentorship.

Musical Mentors is run by an executive board comprised of students and our music director. The members of the executive board are decided through election in the prior year. The executive board holds a meeting in the beginning of the semester and every last week of the month to discuss upcoming events. In order to promote and encourage attendance at both weekly sessions and events, we have rules of engagement for our publicity. The most impactful has been the communication set up with parents and music directors around the district. The close connection between this community is all the vital, as we are able to aid our students to the best of our ability. In addition to weekly email communication, we use social media sites and announcement programs through our school to promote the sessions and program as a whole.

As a school club, we participate in several events throughout the year, planned by the executive board. However, every month we hold a full club meeting to allow the mentors to provide input on the following events.

The first event is typically a bake sale held in September to mark the beginning of the school year in conjunction with the “Back to School Night.” We use this event to raise money for the club as well as advertise the club to parents who may have middle or elementary school students interested in receiving free music lessons through Musical Mentors. In October, we participate in the ‚ÄúSpooktacular Showcase,‚Äù a school-wide STEAM-themed Halloween event. While distributing candy in the spirit of Halloween, we are also able to promote the program, through live performances, announcements in the event program, and flyers ready to be circulated.

In the second semester, CVHS hosts an “Area Concert,” bringing together the elementary and middle school music programs throughout the district in order to play a concert in the gym alongside the high school students. This is another opportunity that we use to advertise for Musical Mentors by passing out flyers and talking to parents about our program. We hold a second bake sale at CVHS’ 8th Grade Expo, designed to encourage eighth graders to explore CVHS and what we have to offer. With so many prospective CVHS students, we find great success in this event as representatives of both Musical Mentors and the CVHS Instrumental Music program.

And, to close off the year, we hold an annual Musical Mentors concert with the aim to celebrate all the young musicians‚Äô success and progress. Throughout the last few months of the school year, we are able to introduce new music to them–in addition to their own concert set pieces–and encourage them to play a solo, duet, or chamber piece with their friends or mentor. Ultimately showcasing their talent and advancement, the event serves as a toast in celebration to the success of Musical Mentors and young musicians, alike.

This program has impacted our community in a positive way by not only bringing kids from local schools to Capistrano Valley High School, but also welcoming students from other districts as well. Our program invites kids from all ages and instruments to come together and learn music together. Through this program, we believe the mentees gain more of an appreciation and knowledge for music, are more motivated to continue playing their instruments, and strive to better their musical abilities. Overall, we believe both parents and kids alike find use, as well as satisfaction, in our program.

Musical Mentors raises funds solely to strengthen the program. On average, Musical Mentors holds three bake sales per year. Baked goods are donated by high school students, and the proceeds of these fundraisers have been used for program apparel and musicianship method books. The high school mentors contributed to the cost of the t-shirts, which allowed Musical Mentors to guarantee each mentee their own shirt. Being a student club at CVHS, Musical Mentors must make purchase orders and deposits through the Activities Office. For the 2019-20 school year, Musical Mentors aims to make a second order of t-shirts and purchase new method books for orchestra students.

Approximately 20-25 kids every week

Approximately 20-30 kids every week

Musical Mentors was started as a club through our school, and nothing similar preceded it. And, it has impacted our community in a positive way, not only bringing kids from local schools to Capistrano Valley High School, but also welcoming students from other districts as well.

Attached is the ongoing roster and records for this past school year (2018-2019). We serve between 15 and 25 students each week. In order to increase attendance, weekly communication is made with parents and music directors throughout the district. We also connect with individual parents who come in touch with us by social media or by word of mouth. The adaptability and ingenuity of the program are instigating real changes within the school district. These qualities are what differentiate Musical Mentors from a small school-based project to an area-wide initiative.

The positive results which Musical Mentors experiences has not come without obstacles and week to week challenges. One of the more difficult tasks we face is retention of attendance within the high school population of mentors. Because attendance on the mentee behalf is not required, it is relatively unknown what mentors will be needed in a given week. In the beginning of the year, there tends to be more mentors than kids who come to be mentored. Although this can be seen as a good problem, this leaves mentors without kids and the mentors lose motivation to come to sessions. To combat this, we encourage the mentors without kids to sit in on another mentors lesson so that they can not only learn from their peers, but can provide their own input as well.
As more mentees join the program, there is a possibility that the high school mentor population will be overrun by the need for specific-instrument mentors. We prepare for such a situation by ensuring at least two mentors present for every musical family. We also let the parents know that although it is not required, an email letting us know whether their kid will be attending that week is appreciated. This is usually expected in cases of less common instrument types, such as young piano students, guitarists, and percussionists.

Considering the kids who come to our program are between the ages of 8-14, it can be a challenge to keep them focused throughout the session. We let the mentors know that it is okay to take a quick mental break from music and to keep a fast pace before the kids get distracted. However, a more fool-proof strategy we use is to simply increase the distance between each mentor-mentee group.

With all of this in mind, we constantly look ahead in order to see what more we can do to help. Between the CVHS Instrumental Music Program, Musical Mentors, and all the music programs touched by us, there are endless possibilities of what the future can hold.

We have found that our efforts have come full-circle . We have several members who started as middle school mentees at the program’s inception, and they have now returned, mentoring the kids they once were. We have even found our reach of mentees has grown, where students are bringing friends or making new friends through the program. Not only have we found an increase in attendance, from 10 students in our first session, to 25 and growing today, but also the high school mentor circle is growing. We have representation from orchestra and band, as well as piano players, guitar players, and in percussive areas. In addition, the mentors have begun using more collaborative techniques in finding new ways to engage the students. Walking through a session, one is likely to hear a string duet or a full woodwind quintet playing around in downtime.

Yet, with the success we have gained so far, we are still constantly looking for places to expand. In this coming school year, we are planning outreach trips to three or four feeder middle schools, where we will coordinate with instructors to host a brief presentation encouraging music pursuit. In addition, we hope to bring the students from the middle schools to CVHS to watch rehearsals or performances. Looking ahead, we have many areas in which to grow, and there are many results already in the making.

Publicity and outreach are some of the most important factors in ensuring success. Students looking to replicate Musical Mentors should work with their directors to contact local elementary and middle schools and give them flyers to pass out to their students. Emphasize that the program is free and that students can have any level of musical ability. If you can meet with these local directors in person (possibly at a district-wide informational session) that is even better. Directors receive a lot of emails every day, and they will be more responsive through a phone call or in-person conversation. That said, it is also advised to reach out directly to parents. We advertised Musical Mentors at our district-wide “Area Concert,” where students from local elementary, middle, and high schools performed. We handed out flyers to parents and answered all their questions about the program. You can also put up flyers at local coffee shops or have information sent out through school-wide emails.

While advertising for students is important, you must also make sure that you have mentors to teach those students. Put up flyers around your music room and ask if your director can send out information about the program. You can also ask your director to offer incentives for the program. Our director allowed students to make-up zeroes from missing class by helping out with Musical Mentors. Also try to ensure that you have mentors from different instruments. We struggled with getting orchestra mentors at first, so we enlisted the help of the lead orchestra student. Working with student music leaders, such as concertmasters, drum majors, and section leaders, is important in spreading the word about the program.

You should try to set up an executive board for the program that consist of a few students who are committed to its success and can lead the program. These students should be able to devote a lot of their time to the project, as they will need to work with local directors, speak with parents, publicize, and train mentors.

Following that, make sure that you are answering all parent questions! If parents are unable to clearly understand what a program is, they are unlikely to send their students. Put one student’s email/phone number on your flyer, and make sure that you are punctual when answering phone calls and emails. Try to address parent concerns beforehand, as they will likely want to know if there will be an adult supervisor present, where the program will take place, and what students should bring to be prepared. If you can answer these questions before they are asked by putting this information on your flyer, parents will be impressed.

• 2019MusicalMentorsConcert
• MentorAttendance2018-19
• MMSignInResponses2018-191
• MusicalMentors_Flyer_2019-2020