Two-Year Operating Support Grant

During 2017 and 2018 the Music Resource Center intends to provide area students from 6th - 12th grade, with access to a high quality, free after school music program that gives them the opportunity to explore their passion for music in a safe and engaging environment. We intend to: increase the number of students that attend, increase the time they spend at the Music Resource Center, maintain or increase the diversity of students in the program, continue to reach out to at-risk youths at places such as Life House and the Steve O'Neil apartments, provide ample performance opportunities, support students in creating professional quality recordings of their work, continue to provide the high quality experience students expect. The instructors, staff, and the board of the Armory Arts and Music Center (the Music Resource Center's parent organization) are committed to the Music Resource Center's mission, 'To educate and inspire young people, and through music, equip them with life skills for the future'. The Music Resource Center program and its parent organization, the Armory Arts and Music Center, are continually assessing, evaluating and seeking feedback to shape the program and achieve its goals. This happens at all levels of the organization including our instructors, the executive director, the Armory Arts and Music Center Arts and Music Programming Committee, and the Armory Arts and Music Center Board. These evaluations take place at different intervals to effectively respond to input and needs. Discussion among the instructors and the executive director occur on a weekly (or more frequent) basis, while the Arts and Music Programming Committee meets periodically to discuss larger issues, and the Board meets monthly for updates and to give input. The Music Resource Center currently utilizes three tools to gather information including: Student registration packet (which includes the member application and interest survey); to understand each students background and goals. Daily sign-in sheet; to track attendance. End of year survey; to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. Last year we stepped up our efforts to collect additional and more accurate data. We found this to be very helpful in understanding the overall quality of the program, which our students and parents rated a 4.3 on a scale of 1-5. This year we are continuing to improve measuring aspects of the program to verify that we are meeting our goals.