TeachRock Program Launches with New Partner West End Middle School
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Teachers at West End Middle School in Nashville are beginning the 2023-24 school year with a rocking new partnership. The school is the newest school to partner with TeachRock, Stevie Van Zandt’s non-profit educational content provider.
Launched by Van Zandt with the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, TeachRock has provided standards-aligned resources and class lesson plans help teachers, students, and families succeed and connect through the power of music for more than a decade. Van Zandt recently announced the organization’s star-studded Artist Council which includes Erykah Badu, Common, Sheryl Crow, Peter Gabriel, Norah Jones, DJ Khaled, Skip Marley, Darryl McDaniels, Melle Mel, Margo Price, Rapsody, Gina Schock, Marty Stuart, and Taboo of the Black-Eyed Peas — to participate in lesson plans, be hands on with students and educators, and to engage with fans to shine a light on TeachRock’s mission. Read more about the newly-formed Artist Council in Billboard and Rolling Stone.
TeachRock’s partnership with West End Middle School will include access to TeachRock’s new Harmony Student Wellness Program, providing daily lessons which utilize music of all eras and genres as a springboard to student wellness. West End Teachers will also have access to hundreds of TeachRock Lessons and personalized support. In addition, the partnership includes the development of International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program Unit Plans for the school.
West End Middle School Principal, James (Trey) Stephens III says of partnering with TeachRock: “Our West End Blue Jays are thrilled to be combining forces with TeachRock! Learning how to grow up as an IB learner means embracing art, cultures, and experiences while also focusing on rigorous academics. TeachRock as a partner shares these core goals.”
TeachRock Executive Director Bill Carbone adds of their newest Partner School West End Middle School: “We’ve seen for years how the shared interest in music helps forge connections between teachers and students, and every year we witness how arts-integrated math, science, and social studies classes pull students from the margins and inspire them to participate. We’re thrilled to partner with West End Middle School to bring this music-forward approach to Music City!”
About TeachRock:
Launched by Stevie Van Zandt with the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, Teachrock.org has provided free, standards-aligned resources to help teachers, students, and families succeed for more than a decade.
TeachRock improves students’ lives by bringing the sound, stories, and science of music to all classrooms. From The Beatles to Beyoncé, from kindergarten to AP History, in the classroom or remotely, TeachRock offers meaningful lesson plans, all at no cost to teachers, students, and families, inspiring deeper learning and understanding through the power of music.
Stevie Van Zandt founded TeachRock to keep music and arts in the DNA of school systems and empower teachers to engage a generation with the internet in their pockets. Stevie saw music as the way to present positive representations of all learners, make real-life connections between the classroom and student experiences, and inspire student success.
TeachRock.org is an open educational resource of hundreds of unit and lesson plans, Student Editions, and musician bios. TeachRock’s “Rock and Soul of America” high school History course is taught throughout California, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere.
More than 60,000 educators in over 30,000 schools in all 50 U.S. states, England, Spain, Norway, and elsewhere are registered with Teachrock.org.
TeachRock’s Partner School program includes a multi-year collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, ongoing projects with New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Chattanooga, TN public schools, as well as with individual schools in Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and several others.
More than 85% of teachers surveyed report heightened enthusiasm in TeachRock classrooms. TeachRock’s curriculum has been highlighted by The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Education Week, and many others.
TeachRock functions as part of the 501(c)(3) The Rock and Soul Forever Foundation and is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Association for Music Education, the National Council for Geographic Education, and has collaborated with and partnered on projects with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Grammy Museum, Scholastic, CNN, PBS, ABC News, among others.
Why TeachRock Matters: Click HERE for A Message from Stevie Van Zandt
Watch a class in action | Read about TeachRock | Donate HERE