TakeLessons Charter brings music and foreign language learning back to independent school and charter school curriculum with live-stream video lesson technology.
Challenge Charter School is a public charter school in Arizona with 500 students in grades K-6. Under the leadership of Principal Wendy Miller, Challenge Charter provides Core Knowledge curriculum, enriched by computer science and music courses. Learn how a partnership with TakeLessons Charter expanded learning opportunities for students.
TakeLessons Charter Case Study
- School: Challenge Charter School
- School Size: 500 Students, Grades K-6, ~24 Students Per Class
- Location: Glendale, Arizona
- Subject: Live Video Music Lessons
- Frequency: 3 Classes Per Day
“Our kids are so excited about the personal relationships they are building with teachers all over the country. They are learning about different accents, weather, geography, and cuisines, while learning music! Kids are innately curious and distance learning allows them to explore so much more.” – Principal Miller
The School: Challenge Charter School
Challenge Charter School is the first Core Knowledge school in Arizona, a designation that represents “engaging, challenging, and content-rich” academic standards. With equal emphasis on differentiation and cross-curricular connections, students benefit from individualized instruction and opportunities to discover deeper meaning. “Challenge” is the name and philosophy, as the goal is to challenge students at their own levels.
Challenge Charter School also leads the way in technology-driven innovation in Arizona. As the first TechSmart Kids school in the state, CCS is committed to integrating computer science coding lessons into the Core Knowledge curriculum. On campus, 11 certified coding instructors teach SkyLark block and Python code, customized for each grade level, beginning as early as Kindergarten. CCS believes that computer science coding learning further supports Core Knowledge lessons in math, problem solving, and logic.
Music in Schools: The Solution
A new partnership with TakeLessons Charter provides CCS students with music classes. The program connects Challenge Charter School K-6 classrooms with top-rated music instructors through two-way livestream video technology.
“There is a teacher shortage in Arizona and many other states in all areas,” explains Principal Miller. “This shortage is even more pervasive in the fine arts, since these positions have been phased out over the past 10 years during budget shortfalls.”
“Our partnership with TakeLessons allows our kids and faculty to enjoy the expertise of three different music instructors, all highly qualified for the content they are teaching, without losing instructional time transitioning classrooms.” – Principal Miller
The TakeLessons partnership solved a staffing challenge for CCS. In the words of Principal Miller: “Our partnership with TakeLessons allows our kids and faculty to enjoy the expertise of three different music instructors, all highly qualified for the content they are teaching, without losing instructional time transitioning classrooms.”
Loretta M. with TakeLessons is the featured teacher for grades 4 and 5 at CCS. Her qualifications include a Master’s of Music degree from New York University and a Bachelor’s of Music degree from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Loretta radiates with passion for music education, and boasts over a decade of teaching experience.
“Our 4th and 5th graders are stretching their legs, moving, clapping, and counting their way through rhythms and new melodies.” – Loretta M., Music Teacher
“Each week the students engage in conversations around the sound and feel of music, as well as instrumentation and the surprises they did not expect to hear,” explains Loretta. “Our 4th and 5th graders are stretching their legs, moving, clapping, and counting their way through rhythms and new melodies. Now we are using new memory tools as we move on to creating our very own sheet music.”
Music in Schools: What is the Impact?
The students are thriving in the music classes at CCS, and the impact extends far beyond musical notes. “Several kids who have been shy to open up to their classes in Kindergarten and 1st grade often volunteer for the ‘song of the day’ and sing in front of their classrooms,” shares Principal Miller. “This builds their confidence and comfort greatly. They now volunteer to answer questions in other subjects too.”
“At our community assembly, our 4th graders performed a tune they wrote synchronizing their bodies to demonstrate their knowledge on math, fractions, and angles!” – Principal Miller
Music integration is second nature at CCS, where they strive for kinesthetic learning and action-based classrooms. Music can be a pathway for multi-subject understanding. Principal Miller recounts: “At our community assembly, our 4th graders performed a tune they wrote synchronizing their bodies to demonstrate their knowledge on math, fractions, and angles!” Additionally, music inspires reading in 1st grade: “All early readers, and especially those needing extra support, get great practice following the words while signing. They forget they are practicing because they are having fun!”
Is online learning integration the future of education technology? “I do see this as the direction of the future,” Principal Miller shares. “The quality TakeLessons platform and staff has us on the right path for our students’ preparation and empowerment.”
TakeLessons.com partners with 5,000+ highly-qualified teachers, with specialties in foreign languages, musical instruments, and more unique subjects. TakeLessons Charter serves charter schools and independent schools across the United States.
Michelle Guerin