 Felicia Fis is a beacon of kindness, compassion and creativity in her work with Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom and as a school psychologist in San Diego Unified. This summer, Felicia presented a deeply moving and effective workshop to participants in our teacher retreat in Julian, called "Taking in the Good." Wherever she is- with children, colleagues or GITC community members- her knowledge, her beautiful spirit, her voice and her comfort on guitar are pure inspiration!
Felicia is now helping other GITC teachers and specialists understand how music can become a force for teaching calm and self-regulation in all classrooms. Specific behavioral strategies were once primarily in the domain of special education, but now all classrooms are embracing students with a variety of educational and social emotional challenges as part of a more inclusive approach. That means general classroom teachers want to learn exactly what Felicia teaches. “There are so many opportunities for students to feel overwhelmed in an inclusive classroom,” remarks Jess Baron, GITC Executive Director. “Waiting, going through transitions between activities, coping with overwhelming sound and visual stimuli, mediating conflicts with peers- any of these experiences can trigger students to become overwhelmed, frustrated, or even angry. Learning to work through those feelings in a classroom setting is a big job. And making music with students provides a very positive, natural medium for developing a wide range of self-regulation self-soothing strategies." Felicia agrees. She believes that every student has the potential to participate successfully in music. “One misconception about children with disabilities and social-emotional issues is that they don’t like sensory experiences -- when the truth is, they seek them out,” she explains. “If they are playing instruments and making the sounds, it is not dis-regulating. Instead, it regulates them because it’s tactile, visual, and auditory all at the same time.” As a school psychologist at Valencia Park and Paradise Hills elementary schools, Felicia works with many kids with physical challenges, social-emotional issues, and behavioral issues. Her room is full of instruments, and she has seen first-hand the incredible impact that playing them has on her students. “One student had significant behavioral challenges but he wanted to play guitar. Being able to come to my room and play guitar became a huge incentive for good behavior, and it had a ripple effect. Other kids started asking to play,” explains Felicia. In June, she attended GITC’s 2-day conference in AMAISE (Adapted Music for Achievement in Inclusion and Special Education), an experience she found to be both empowering and inspiring. The conference included hands-on adapted instrument training on drums, ukulele, guitar, and Beamz interactive music system, as well as instruction on how to write lyrics for learning and social-emotional development. “The songwriting piece is amazing,” Felicia explains. “Students with special needs feel SO proud when they write a song. They have utilized their strengths, their creativity and their expressive language to create something valuable. You can see immediately that their confidence has been boosted.” Felicia describes her work with GITC as “satisfying and fulfilling.” She hopes that more teachers will join the movement and they are -- because she’s recruiting them in droves! She is also witnessing students who didn’t want to go to school now feeling excited to attend because music is a part of their day. “Music and art are important. They open parts of people’s brains that other things don’t,” she says. “I’m always trying to figure out new ways to bridge music and learning.”
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BETTER LEARNING THROUGH MUSIC:
Guitars in the Classroom Receives Grant from The NAMM Foundation San Diego, CA – September 17, 2019 — Do you hear the sound of happy strummers and singers in schools around the U.S.? Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom (GITC) has once again been named a grant recipient of The NAMM Foundation. “It is because of this special foundation, their support and guidance of grantees, that we got our lift off and have been able to improve and grow our work so steadily over the past 13 years,” says GITC founder and Executive Director, Jess Baron. GITC is a19 year-old educational non-profit that trains, equips and empowers teachers and school staff to integrate academic and social learning with hands on music and student songwriting across the curriculum. The organization was selected as one of 28 music-making organizations to receive a grant to fund vital programs that provide access to music-making opportunities across a variety of different communities and demographics. “Through the transformative work of these organizations, thousands of people will discover or advance their love and desires for making music,” said Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation. “And these projects also advance new music learning experiences and capacity – all essential for creating more music makers.” The grants serve to underscore the Foundation’s mission to advance participation in music making and offer quality access to all people. As one of 28 recipients, Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom will utilize The NAMM Foundation’s support to fund Adaptive Music for Achievement in Inclusion and Special Education (AMAISE) training, after school professional development courses for teachers, classroom teaching artist residencies, and music educator workshops in integrating ukulele and guitar instruction in general music programs. Jess Baron explains the significance of this grant with long-term perspective: “When we started our work in 2000, the idea of teaching academic subjects through the power of music was considered a revolutionary concept. There was no research to support the assertion that students could make significant linguistic, cognitive, emotional or academic gains through the integration of hands-on music with standards-based instruction across the curriculum. Now studies connecting music education with these positive outcomes are pouring in! But in the beginning, the idea of training teachers with scant musical experience to lead this integration in their own classrooms raised many eyebrows. Despite this, NAMM saw the potential to create more musical access for children during their most formative years. They believed in our mission and offered to help. Fast forward to 2019 and 14,000 GITC-trained teachers later, strategic songs and student songwriting with guitars and ukuleles are playing a significant role in learning across the curriculum. The NAMM Foundation has helped GITC design and build a complementary, mutually beneficial relationship between Music Integration and Music Education in our GITC-participating schools. We are so grateful for this grant to support more GITC professional development and teaching artists residencies, which will bring hands-on musical learning to Literacy and Learning for 120,000 elementary students in 2019-2020.” Since its inception in 1994, The NAMM Foundation’s annual grant program has donated more than $18 million in support to domestic and international music education programs, scientific research, advocacy and public service programs related to music-making. The grants are funded in part by donations from the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,400 member companies worldwide. About Guitars in the Classroom Guitars in the Classroom is a 19 year-old educational non-profit organization dedicated to creating access to musical learning for all students. Our work strives to improve the quality of teaching and learning through the power of song education through the provision of ongoing musical training, coaching and resources for educators. We train, supply and empower teachers who wish to lead and integrate hands-on music with lessons in English language arts, math, science, social studies and more. Our work promotes student engagement and achievement, teacher effectiveness, and it nurtures 21st Century Learning Skills through collaborative music making and student songwriting for learning. About The NAMM Foundation The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization funded in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,400 members. The Foundation’s mission is to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org. Here is a good start to sharing some magic moments from our recent experiences making music and deepening friendships up at camp this month! More to come... thanks to our photographers Abby Dorsey, Gingerlily Lowe and various friends! Please check back soon more more pictures.  It's Sunday afternoon and we just completed our first AMASE Conference that was supported by three incredible foundation sponsors, including the Nordson Foundation, Qualcomm Charity and the National Endowment for the Arts! AMASE stands for Adaptive Music for Achievement in Special Education. Special educators, staff members, therapeutic specialists and teachers in mainstreamed general ed joined together for two days to learn to play, share and adapt music making for their students. They learned to play drums and percussion, led adaptive drum circles, and incorporated movement with hand percussion. They learned to play ukelele and guitar, sing, teach and lead songs for learning. They composed and co-wrote original lyrics for teaching Social Emotional Learning, classroom rules and academic content, and well, so much more! We will be sharing a whole blog and telling you more about the people in these photos very soon. But for now, we are SHOUTING OUT CONGRATULATIONS to these phenomenal educators and therapists!
 We are immensely grateful to the San Diego County Office of Education Special Services team as well as the San Diego Unified Special Education leadership for being open to our unusual approach to making music accessible in special education. Thanks, Cara Schukoske, and Andrea Vinson (right) for taking creative steps to supporting special educators and encouraging your faculties and staff members to bring music into their classrooms so EVERY student can benefit from learning to make music! #nationalendowmentforthearts, #SDUSD, #SDCOE
 Through GITC sponsor, Saga Musical Instruments, Judy ordered 24 soprano ukuleles for her classroom. Our Tuning Archangel, Rodney Howard got them ready and we personally delivered them to the school to make sure everything arrived timely. Judy wrote to GITC from her hospital bed, explaining what was going on. She worried that because of her health crisis, her kiddos had not learned to play despite the ukes being in a big box in their classroom. "I'm not sure who will be taking over my room, but I think they will begin on Monday, " she explained. " I made a promise to those kids to learn the ukulele and if you can help me out, well wonderful. Marissa Ramirez is the other first grade teacher who is my partner in crime. I have my own little uke and guitar here that cheer me up. I am so grateful for everyone's kindness." We promised Judy that we would find a way to fund two weekly first grade teaching artist residencies in order that her promise to the children be fulfilled and her dream realized.  Thankfully, this came to pass when international online ukulele teacher Terry Carter, CEO of Uke Like the Pros contacted GITC and offered to raise money at the winter holidays by challenging his students to match him dollar for dollar in supporting music for children in Title 1 schools. Everyone chipped in raising just enough to send GITC Teaching Artist. Jefferson Jay to bring joy and learning to Judy's and Melissa's kids. Jefferson is one of the most convivial people you'd ever want to meet and he was up for the assignment.  GITC is grateful to the VAPA Foundation for their generous, ongoing support of teachers who voluntarily take our music integration courses. We are thankful for Saga Musical Instruments for making ukes so affordable for GITC teachers!
Thanks those organizations and to Judy Johnson, Terry Carter, Terry's students, and Jefferson Jay, between January and April, teachers and students in both first grades learned how to strum, sing, and write their own songs for learning! Now Judy's love will live on every time a new first grader comes into their classroom at the beginning of the year and finds out that going to school at Johnson means learning through the power of song and the joy of making music.  GITC's Summer Teacher Retreat Teachers, Paras, Specialists and Friends! We are planning our 4th Annual GITC Teacher Retreat and wonder if you'd like to join us!? We'll be heading up to Julian, CA at Camp Cedar Glen once again. This spacious spot in the woods and mountain air is easily accessible, disability friendly, and so comfortable.  Coming to the retreat gives educators time to unwind, bond with friends, deepen your musical knowledge, expand your skills and double your confidence as a song leader! This three-day GITC experience will help them accomplish their musical goals while they renew their spirits and rest their bodies among friends in a beautiful place and all for a tiny price!  Located only two miles away from Julian Town Hall, Camp Cedar Glen offers a relaxed and social atmosphere where families and visitors all find welcome and a variety of affordable accommodations and amenities.
HERE IS OUR PRE-RETREAT SURVEY for anyone planning to join us. It will help you request special sleeping arrangements (as much as we can manage in cabins :-) and give us dietary restrictions, too. Official Registration is OPEN! This link let's you pay for camp. Retreat Dates: August 1 – 4, 2019 Arrival August 1st - Thursday - dinner (arrival at 4 PM or after) August 2nd - breakfast, lunch and dinner August 3rd - breakfast, lunch and dinner Departure August 4th - Sunday - breakfast & lunch (departure at 2 PM) REGISTER by CLICKING HERE! Holy ukulele! The students and teachers from Jefferson Elementary really rocked their GITC culminating performance at the Observatory North Park! The lights were bright, but the smiles were brighter! Special thanks to Teaching Artist Jefferson Jay for coordinating a wonderful year of learning and a dynamic end-of-the-year showcase. We are most grateful to San Diego Unified School District's VAPA Department and our Superintendent, Cindy Marten for supporting Arts Integration in our Title 1 schools. Jefferson Elementary received their teaching artist residencies through VAPA's Learning through the Arts program. We have had an incredible four years serving in this advanced initiative! Please enjoy some photos from the Jefferson Elementary final performance here! Please enjoy photos from our students' final performances at Paradise Hills Elementary here!  What is Adaptive Music all about and what makes it so "AMASE-ing?" For most of us, learning to make music is a complex process that involves putting a myriad of motor skills, small and large to work. Our arms, hands and fingers, our legs, feet and toes, our ears, eyes and mouths, our hearts, our lungs, our heads, necks and torsos, and all that gray matter that connects the musical and physical dots for us are involved. We are all born with musical potential, no matter what our bodies and brains can or cannot do with ease. But what happens to children if some part of their anatomical tool box doesn't exist or doesn't work very well? Can a person with limiting conditions develop alternate ways to approach making music? The answer, of course, is "Yes, they can, and they must be given that chance." Not only can all students learn to enjoy making music, but those who face major challenges physically, cognitively or emotionally stand to gain a great deal by having this opportunity. Think of superstars like the irreducible Django Reinhardt, Stevie Wonder, Evelyn Glennie or Rick Allen of Def Lepard to get a glimpse of what is possible. There are so many musicians who have not let impairments stand in their way. So what can we do for our students who spend every day isolated from regular music instruction opportunities? We can break down the barrier to making music by training the adults who teach and assist students with special needs to lead the way. This approach is still new and the teachers and paras who are already participating are already successfully leading music every single day!  AMASE Conferences last two days. During this time, special education professionals gather together to learn and to improvise exciting ways to create inclusive, effective music instruction. We share adaptive practices and techniques for making instruments more accessible for students. Trainers in innovative technologies participate as do local music therapists who teach specialized interventions such as the artful de-escalation of aggressive behavior and refocusing students away from stressful triggers and toward productive participation. GITC is able to offer these trainings to 45 participants each time and to do this at no charge thanks to very important grants from the Nordson Foundation, the Qualcomm Foundation, the NAMM Foundation, and with charitable participation from generous music products sponsors and amase-ing individual donors! We are deeply thankful to each and all for this compassionate support. At GITC, we know AMASE has to offer a broad array of musical opportunities so that we can include students regardless of what kind of mountain they might be climbing. Ukuleles are fantastic but so are drums! We are crazy about REMO's Comfort Sound Technology drums created for students with special needs and hypersensitive hearing. So is the Beamz Interactive Unit!
Paralysis might look like a barrier but it need not be. With eye gaze technology, eye movements are enough to trigger musical instruments that work with computers. Spastic muscles might make it hard for students with Cerebral Palsy to strum strings or strike drums, but adaptive grips. picks and mallets solve that. The variety of approaches to making music accessible is pretty good now and will only grow with time and exploration. We want to make sure these approaches reach the kids who can benefit from them the most. This is why, through AMASE, we are "gathering the tribe" - calling all sorts of innovators together to join us in training special educators and paraprofessional staffers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, counselors and others to bring music making to students with special needs. Are you hearing the call? Please reach out to us. Let us know. It takes quite a large village to make this endeavor possible! To discuss ways to get involved, please drop us a line! And to see when our next AMASE Conference is taking place, please visit our PROGRAMS PAGE. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for learning about AMASE.  Are you preparing your students to give a special informance (left) or performance (below)? The first one is often done in a relaxed atmosphere in your classroom by inviting visitors in. The second is more likely to occur in a more public space that may have a stage or a platform and a designated place for audience members to sit. The first is much easier, needing just in class rehearsal. The second is a much bigger proposition! No need to be daunted. Yes it's a big process but it also affords us as educators an enormous opportunity to teach things that just don't get addressed a different way. Facilitating and leading a great performance gives us opportunities to help students develop excellent listening skills, sequencing, mind body coordination, spatial relations, grace, mindfulness, a sense of timing, group awareness, courage, self confidence, communication skills, and then there are all the artistic abilities and skills they are developing, too. It's worth all the planning and practice when you take the time to use it as a chance to integrate music, drama, movement, and personal development. READY, SET, WAIT! In order to facilitate a positive and safe performing experience for students, we recommend taking 7 important steps to creating a successful show. These steps can increase the students' sense of being ready and in control and this will reduce their anxiety. Having a few jitters are normal but stage fright can be overwhelming. It fear or confusion leads a student to making a mistake and feeling embarrassed on stage, they may cry, shut down or run offstage! This can turn into a frozen moment during the show and a negative memory for that child which lasts and turns into low musical self esteem! Let's avoid that if we can! The steps that follow are designed to help you and your students to achieve safety making entrances and exits, smoothness of performance, and a beautiful result.  STEP ONE: DETERMINE LINE ORDER FOR SEATING, ENTRANCES AND EXITS Students need direction from you how to line up, who is singing and who will have a ukulele, and through what entrance to go on stage and off stage. DECIDE how this will go, then give clear instructions and practice lining up. STEP TWO: MAKE SURE EVERYONE CAN BE SEEN & HEARD Stage students so they can be seen and heard by the audience. This is easiest to do on paper first, then with the students themselves on stage, finding the right places without being watched by outsiders. You can explain that this step takes patience and paying attention. We recommend organizing your students in 2 or 3 rows:
 STEP THREE: SHARE YOUR PLAN AND TRY IT OUT FIRST! Before you bring students onstage, communicate with them about who will go where. Diagrams can help. Giving kids clear instructions first, answering questions in your classroom, then going to the stage to practice finding their places ahead of time is helpful for a smooth performance. This activity gives you a chance to teach locations on a stage! (Hint: Marking places with blue painters tape can guide their eyes and feet to the right spots.)  STAGE FOUR: MEMORIZE THE MATERIAL! Before performing, your students need to have their songs memorized. Singing with papers onstage leads to students holding the paper in front of their faces which means no one can see or hear them. After they finish, their parents may complain and make them feel bad about that. So it's best to start practicing singing and playing several weeks in advance until they can share their music without looking. Once they have their song committed to memory, you can help them practice singing and playing it from the stage while pretending to make eye contact with the audience. Children can find it helpful to choose a person to sing to or a spot on the back wall to look at while they sing in order to not appear distracted. Students smiling is great- but please don't shout "Smile! Smile!" during the performance. The audience can hear you!  STEP FIVE: CHECK OUT THE SOUND SYSTEM & TEACH STUDENTS MIC TECHNIQUE AHEAD OF THE SHOW Our sound advice is this. If someone on staff or a friend can help you set up the sound and run it on the day of the performance, just say "Yes, please!" Two pairs of hands and ears are better than one. Why? School sound systems can be as simple as one podium and stationary mic, or far more elaborate. They can include good speakers or a bad one. They can be wired into the whole auditorium or consist of separate components. You won't know what you are working with until you physically explore this. Ask your facilities manager for a walk through and lesson a week before you plan to use the system. Then if anything doesn't work, you can adapt your plan. If the school system is lacking or sounds bad, it's not worth using. See if someone in the community can loan you equipment. Most bands have what you will need. Will your students be singing into a microphone or two, or more? If you are lucky, there are one or two suspended overhead that the kids don't even see. They can stand together, sing and be heard. But this is more common in high schools and junior highs than in elementary schools. If your school has a mic or two, you'll need to know what kind of mic it is. Is it uni-directional (for 1 voice only) or omni-directional (good for many voices)? This lets you teach children how to step up to the mic in the right position (a hand's width away). Safety First: Make sure they can see and avoid stepping on or over any microphone or speaker cables. Giving the students a chance to practice using the sound equipment without an audience is wonderfully helpful and their parents may even thank you for keeping them safe. Quality Over Volume: Singing loudly does not mean screaming. Please teach yours students to sing with their "beautiful singing voices" on stage and not to over-sing for volume. Kids who think they have to belt out a song to be heard will wind up screaming and singing out of tune. They just need to understand that the microphone will do the work of carrying their voices. Once they know their families can see and hear them, they can concentrate on the quality of their sound.  STEP SIX: BRAVELY LEAD THE MUSIC! You've got this! Or maybe you are not so sure about that... but either way, we encourage you to model creative courage and fake it til you make it. The kids need you. First of all, it's helpful to lead your students hands- free if you can. Your hands will be great for conducting the beat, signaling chord changes and so much more. Second, find a place to kneel or stand where the students can see your face. This may off to the side (in the wings) or best yet, down in front of the stage, facing the students where you can see every child and they can see you. From this visible position, you can bring students to attention before they sing. You can give them the first "initial" singing pitch of their song to sing together before they begin! You can also hold large lyric signs if needed, signal hand motions, or move your arms to help them keep the beat. Third, smile smile smile. They need to see your encouraging face. Fourth, rehearse the songs in performance order to work on transitions. If something isn't sounding right, it is fine to stop, fix what doesn't go well and start again. This is your best opportunity to teach kids that mistakes are stepping stones, not stumbling blocks. You can polish the music together. (Thank you to GITC faculty trainer and board member, Joan Maute for sharing that phrase with GITC!) From their position on stage, at the end of the last song, the children can learn to take a bow and practice timing that bow together. This makes for a very impressive finish! During rehearsal, practice bows and watch their anticipation and pride blossom.  STEP SEVEN: MAKE A GRACEFUL EXIT
Last but not least comes leaving the stage in the proper order, carefully, no one tripping. If you have rows, it can look good to leave the stage, back row first. Kids in the front can keep looking adorable while the back row clears out, then they will follow you. But if crowding prohibits that, do what works! But where are they going? In what direction and where to? Who are your line leaders? How will they know when and where to go? Will an adult be ready at the base of the stairs to give students a hand stepping down? This can be a wonderful job for a parent. If you appoint and educate your line leaders, teach kids where to go, what to do once there, and practice their song cues, you can expect and excellent performance. Then some practice leaving the stage and transitioning back to their designated seats - or out the door - assures a graceful exit. This may require a few tries to get it right but the safety and confidence that this practice can impart to the children will really pay off in the end and set good habits for future performances. And what happens after show is over? Flowers? Food? A party? Don't be afraid to dream big. Your students and family members might love a celebration of some kind and you will definitely deserve one! TEACHING STUDENTS POSITIVE CRITIQUE SKILLS When you get back to class, you may want to give the students a chance to process what happened and how they feel about that. Keeping everything positive is critical for young children. Setting ground rules first will help. "No put downs" is important. Practicing compassion is beautiful. If someone made a mistake or had trouble, the group can learn how to listen, understand and give support. You might ask students to share what did they feel they did well as a group - and why? What worked? Ask what they think might have been better if only? What could they try doing differently next time to get a better outcome? Acknowledge personal gains. Who achieved a personal goal? By leading a positive discussion in which students practice giving and receiving compliments, this will deepen their learning from the performance experience and build their self awareness and self esteem. The Arts always give us beautiful and unique ways to grow. We hope that putting the time into considering this preparation process has been helpful. Our hope is that you as a leader will also gain a true sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself and in your students. Their success is your success and yours is theirs. We'd love to hear about your performance and see photos and video if you want to share! And feel free to comment, add tips, etc. You can also send anything you want to tell us about to events@guitarsintheclassroom.org. Thanks for reading.  Patti "Nerves of" Steele, Kindergarten Teacher extraordinaire By Abby Dorsey When GITC Faculty Trainer and Teaching Artist, Jefferson Jay, talks about Patti Steele, one of the kindergarten teachers he works with at Paradise Hills Elementary, his entire face lights up. “She’s just awesome,” he says. “I think she might actually be a superhero.” As a Faculty Trainer, Jefferson helps teachers like Ms. Steele incorporate Guitars in the Classroom curriculum into their teaching on a daily basis. The job fits his personality perfectly, because he is outgoing, funny, and supportive – part music-instructor, but also part cheerleader. Jefferson teaches 22 teaching artist residency classes with GITC each week, in five different schools. He finds the work he does training and supporting the classroom teachers to be exceptionally rewarding.  GITC teaching artist Jefferson & Paradise Hills Elementary teacher Patti co-teaching a kindergarten class with ukuleles. This week, Ms. Steele’s class is working on a unit about goal setting, based on the book Pogo Pig Learns About Goal Setting by Bryan Sommer and Lindsay Nahmiache. After the students pick out ukuleles, they take their spots on the classroom’s colorful carpet. Then with ukulele in hand, Ms. Steele leads them through a song they’ve written together to explore the theme. Collaborative student songwriting on academic and social-emotional topics is one hallmark of GITC’s innovative approach to help students build literacy skills and language proficiency. “Set a goal. Make a plan. Practice, practice, practice – I know you can!” the students sing enthusiastically, while strumming along. This simple, repetitive message helps the students break down the goal setting process into manageable steps, and the tune is catchy! Jefferson can’t help but sing and strum, too.
But Jefferson remembers a day when even star-teacher, Patti Steele, was struggling. “I got to her class and she was kind of frustrated. The kindergartners were wearing her out a little bit, but she said ‘I’ve got this song…’” Ms. Steele was referring to the first song she had ever written on her own – an assignment she’d just completed for Jefferson’s second semester GITC guitar class. She was nervous to perform it for the children but Jefferson encouraged her to go for it. And in front of a carpet full of wide-eyed kindergartners, Patti Steele sang her very first song!  The song changed her whole mood because the kids were into it and she was getting good feedback,” explains Jefferson. “I gave her some tips and had her sing it a few times in a row, and the kids loved it. Towards the end of class, we even sent the kids to write their own songs from scratch because they were inspired. It was a great class.”  Exemplifying the GITC approach to supportive collaboration, Teaching Artist Jefferson enjoys co-teaching with Paradise Hills Elementary's Patti Steele. As a longtime musician, open-mic host and champion of the San Diego music scene, Jefferson knows a great performance when he sees it. When he’s not teaching GITC classes, he coordinates the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, and is developing the first animated musical featuring all special needs actors. But it’s GITC teachers like Patti Steele that really have his heart.
“My favorite part is finding a place to connect with the teachers,” explains Jefferson. “And knowing that all the future students down the line will benefit.” |
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Please contact us at our national headquarters located at 1761 Hotel Circle S., Ste 210, San Diego, CA 92108
or call (619)578-2326.
Copyright © 2018 Guitars In The Classroom. All rights reserved.
Please contact us at our national headquarters located at 1761 Hotel Circle S., Ste 210, San Diego, CA 92108
or call (619)578-2326.
Copyright © 2018 Guitars In The Classroom. All rights reserved.