“Andre’ was very excited that we were finally going to have a school band. I told him to focus on his grades and we would talk in December to see how he was progressing. Not only had his grades improved in every subject, but Andre’ even had an ‘A’ in Language Arts, one of the subjects he had been struggling with the most. The next day, I was honored to assign him the trumpet he had been desperately wanting to play all year long. He told me thank you, and thanked me for believing in him. As we worked on learning music for our school Mardi Gras parade, I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Andre’ play his trumpet with such pride and passion. Music matters and has clearly made a difference with him.”
– Connie Sparacello, Music Teacher at John L. Ory Communication Arts Magnet School in Louisiana