Making Music at Baltimore Curriculum Project

March is National Music in Our Schools Month, which recognizes the importance of music in education. Research has long shown that learning about music, playing an instrument, and singing improve students’ academic, social development, and well-being. Quite simply, it primes young brains for learning.

At Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP), students enjoy a robust music program in all of BCP’s neighborhood conversion charter schools. The Music Workshop, founded by pianist Jim Jones in 1993, is an integral part of BCP’s music program in five of BCP’s six schools.

After founding his school, located near Govans Elementary School, Jones began creating afterschool and summer music enrichment programs for Baltimore City’s Parks and People Foundation. This led to a long partnership with BCP’s educational partner, Baltimore City Public Schools. Today, The Music Workshop is proudly supporting music education at City Springs Elementary/Middle, Frederick Elementary, Govans Elementary, Pimlico Elementary/Middle, and Wolfe Street Academy.  

We talked with Jones about his journey to make sure every student in Baltimore learns to love music as part of their public education. 

I wasn’t looking to do community music outreach, but Parks and People Foundation called and asked me. I really enjoyed working with kids in the schools. I am a jazz musician who graduated from Berklee College of Music [in Boston] and didn’t have any experience doing anything like that. But fortunately, I was blessed with having so many good teachers work for me. They are the secret sauce. They enjoy what they do and care about exposing kids to music. 

It’s been proven time and again that kids who study music do better in school, especially in math. Music is one of the few activities that uses both sides of your brain at the same time. You’re using the creative side and the analytical side all at the same time. It’s really important for kids to get those synapses wired early on. If they find a passion for music, later on, it gives them something to do besides video games. I’m 64 and I still get lost in music.

I learned about BCP through Angela Scott [BCP’s Director of Human Resources and Purchasing] who brought her daughters to The Music Workshop for lessons. We had years of casual conversations. She saw my summer work with Parks and People and suggested that I work with BCP. I began working with Wolfe Street Academy in 2021, right after COVID, doing afterschool programs. We added City Springs Elementary/Middle School’s afterschool programs around 2022 and Govans Elementary School’s afterschool programs this school year. 

This school year, we added Pimlico Elementary/Middle School as our first-ever, full-day program with City Schools. I have five full-time instructors at Pimlico, each rotating during the week, for classes for Pre-K through 8th grade. On Mondays, we teach keyboards. On Tuesdays, we do woodwinds. Pimlico had some budget money, and I purchased 70 saxophones and clarinets from Rosso Music for the school. Wednesdays are music production days. We have 30 iPads and teach music production to the kids using GarageBand. Thursdays are bucket drums, and Fridays are brass days. Pimlico’s music teacher, Ms. Smith, leads Pimlico’s marching band and is thrilled with our program. We had never taught Pre-K before, so I hired an early music education specialist to write curriculum for Pimlico.

Our program is catching on at Pimlico. We recently had nice performances for Black History Month. Our function is to take the load off Ms. Smith. Her music classes could be up to 40 kids, so we take half. The students get a real eclectic mix of music, teachers, and instruments, which is good for them. My teachers love being there.

I don’t teach anymore but work on the management and curriculum. It’s been a real learning experience for us to be at Pimlico every day, all day. We are writing daily curriculum for every grade based on our experience this year. 

We just added Frederick Elementary School for half-days, and it’s going great!  We’re teaching 3rd through 5th grades there. Instead of the saxophone, we’re teaching recorders. Each kid has his/her own recorder. We also have bucket drums and music production. The students there are getting a good spectrum of activities.

It’s so important for kids to have music. I feel very honored and privileged to be able to supply that to them. Having our instructors come into BCP schools means that BCP doesn’t have to give us a salary or benefits, and BCP students get a good quality music education. It’s a win-win.  

Thanks, Jim and all The Music Workshop teachers, for your impact on BCP students.

Enjoy the gallery of photos from The Music Workshop in BCP schools.