Guest Post by Sistema Toronto: Social Change Through Music Education
Sistema Toronto is a charitable organization whose mission is to foster permanent social change through free music education for young children from marginalized families. Our after school program is currently run out of four priority schools across Toronto and provides 10 hours per week of after-school music and social education during the school year. Each child also receives instruments and a daily nutritious snack, at no cost to participants’ families.
Our Sistema Toronto community is built around our motto:‘We are a team; we always do our best; we always help each other’’. Our students work together to make ensemble music and our team of adults work together to create a support system for our students. Our team models the behaviour we hope to see in our students – leadership, open communication, empathy and listening because we believe that building kids up socially will allow them to succeed in all areas of life.
It’s working! Our students do 25% better in school, on average, compared to their non-Sistema peers in traditional subject areas like reading, writing and math as well as learning skills like responsibility, collaboration, organization and self-regulation.
Each day, we see first-hand the difference it can make when we show a young person that there is a community of supporters built around them. The neighbourhoods we work in feel hopeful and positive because they’re in the hands of conscientious young people. We are fortunate to collaborate with individuals and organizations that are also keen to make a difference!
Sistema is pleased to introduce the Canada Learning Bond to the families that it serves.
To learn more about Sistema Toronto, visit www.sistema-toronto.ca.
