The nonprofit is funding the hiring of a dedicated full-time music teacher in Los Angeles
Let Music Fill My World, a nonprofit dedicated to enriching children’s lives through music education, is proud to announce its partnership with Parmelee Avenue Elementary School to expand the school’s music program. Through this collaboration, Let Music Fill My World has funded the hiring of a dedicated music teacher starting full-time in July for a three-year period, ensuring that students receive consistent, quality music instruction and opportunities to develop their musical talents.
Let Music Fill My World was introduced to Parmelee Elementary through a referral from last year’s individual winner of the Music Matters Challenge, Jesse Robitalle, who identified the school as being in need of musical support. This connection enabled the nonprofit to bring meaningful musical resources to a deserving community.
Music education has long been underfunded in schools, leaving many students without access to the creative and developmental benefits of learning music. Studies have shown that music education enhances cognitive abilities, improves academic performance, and fosters social and emotional growth. Music education is also correlated with a range of 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, innovation and collaboration. Unfortunately, budget constraints have led to the reduction or elimination of music programs in many schools, particularly in under-resourced communities.
Let Music Fill My World is actively working to change this reality. By partnering with schools like Parmelee Avenue Elementary and hosting the Music Matters Challenge, they are ensuring that students receive the music education they deserve. The newly hired music teacher will help students imagine what is possible through the imagination and creative thinking sparked in the classroom.
“My mother was a volunteer music teacher when LA Unified cut funding when I was a young man and she volunteered at our local elementary Van Gogh Elementary School and started putting on musicals. I happened to be Tony in Westside Story. Don’t know if that was nepotism or not, but some 50 years later all of those kids still talk about how important that was for their childhood. And music in the schools has been a big passion of mine. And a friend of mine, Kaylee Tolman, and a couple years ago founded Let Music Fill My World. And it really is an organization that has the goal of making sure every child in America has a music teacher. we know from the data that there are two things that really allow our struggling young kids to find their voice and succeed in school,” Ondrasik tells us.
“One is sports because it gives them something to do. and it gives them discipline. And of course, music is the other. Not everybody can be a great athlete, but everybody can sing and everybody can and make music. So, we founded this couple years ago and we launched our first music matters challenge and the whole idea is to put a music teach in every school. We already have one in Farragut Academy from the first Music Matters Challenge,” he says.
He continues, “We’re supplying a music teacher for that school for three years fully paid and we’re off to now our next adventure and it’s been really exciting.”
The expansion of Parmelee Avenue Elementary’s music program is just one of many initiatives Let Music Fill My World is undertaking to bring the magic of music to more students. The nonprofit continues to seek new partnerships and funding opportunities to support music education in schools across the country.
