Operating Support

Saint Francis Music Center will provide opportunity for people of all ages, ethnicities, and abilities to participate in high quality music lessons and activities. To do this, we will keep the costs of lessons affordable, provide a financial aid program, maintain a high quality staff, and create arts programs that address the needs of central Minnesota. Our evaluation plan consisted of the board evaluating each objective we set. The board looked to students, parents, and staff for written and verbal evaluations. We study the statistics on our student population. We feel that all of the above objectives were met to the best of our abilities. The cost of lessons remains low. No family was turned away from lessons because of financial need. Our staff has high ratings from parents and students. We have addressed various needs in the community by creating programs for all including our URock Camp; our three chorale groups which reach many senior citizens; and our orchestras which are truly multigenerational. Approximately 500 people a week come to the Music Center for lessons or to participate in ensembles. Because we are a smaller school in a rural area, evaluation takes place year round because the community and parents feel they are active participants in our school and are free to express ideas, complaints, and solutions. 2: Saint Francis Music Center will bring music into the lives of central Minnesotans and help all to see the importance of the arts in our lives. To achieve this, we will present free concerts and recitals and encourage attendance from underserved populations, create job opportunities for musicians in teaching and performing, continue to educate parents on the benefits of music education in their children's lives and in their family life, and maintain a visual presence in the community with many music activities that make all feel welcome. We use statistics on our concerts to evaluate part of this goal. We present six major concerts; twelve recitals; a dance recital; and a gymnastics recital each year. The total audience we reach numbers 10,000 plus. All concerts are free, thus economically accessible to anyone. We encourage group homes and senior homes to bring residents and make the experience as comfortable as possible for them. This year we offered free dance lessons to all Head Start families. Again, we brought in twenty families that would not normally take lessons here. As a result, some of these families signed up for other lessons. We also offer a Music and Motion class to area day care facilities. Many families have started lessons here because of that early exposure. Our director also speaks to community groups, on the benefits of the arts to children and families. We feel that all of these activities and outreach show that we have achieved the objectives of this second goal.