The room is filled with kids and chaos — until the piano starts playing.
In the 2010-11 academic year, Fairview Elementary School implemented the national school reform Artful Learning orchestrated by the Leonard Bernstein Center.
The program has various electives, including violin, yoga and dance classes, offered to the students.
One new program that specifically engages students is the show choir class, taught by Richard Baskin and Brennan Wilder, local educators through Bloomington Expressive Arts Training.
“Let me see those step touches!” Wilder said as the kids hopped around the room to the piano playing in the background.
The show choir classes meet during regular school hours as elective classes for the students to have in their daily schedule. The students are all between fourth and sixth grade.
Wilder said the class has come a long way since the first week. The class is currently in its third week at Fairview Elementary.
She said on the first day they weren’t even able to get the kids to sing a single note of music, and now they can sing through a whole song.
“You never know what you’re walking into,” Wilder said. “A lot of them will have crappy days in school but have a good day here.”
The class is a sign-up elective for kids who want to learn more about singing and dancing in the show choir style.
Wilder said the show choir class is especially large, and the main goal is keeping the kids engaged.
Throughout the class period, Baskin and Wilder alternated between teaching choreography and music and keeping the kids on track.
During the period, Baskin checked in with a few kids who stayed in the background or were pushing each other instead of paying attention.
“We had to pull two kids off each other the other day,” Baskin said. “One kid got in a fight with the other. I just had to get them to the office and keep class going.”
Baskin said the program is special to him because he grew up in a neighborhood with schools similar to Fairview. He said he wants to connect with the kids to help them find motivation through music.
“I grew up going to a school like this, and it was challenging, but music kept me going to school,” Baskin said. “Music got me through.”
Baskin said the classes aren’t just about teaching the kids about music but also include a mixture of learning how to communicate, develop social interaction with other children and commit to something every day.
The class is set to have their showcase in September, with a show choir set of three songs, including a dance closing number.
Wilder said the class, while performance-based, is more about having consistent adults in the kids’ lives during the school week.
She said it’s worth the time spent keeping them on track.
“It’s exhausting work, but you get to see the rewards quickly,” Wilder said. “The kids are great.”
