The Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School's reputation for excellence puts us at the very center of the world-wide Suzuki movement. Those of us who are leaders in this movement carry a responsibility for the way that the Suzuki Method evolves into the future. Our faculty along with our colleagues in all of the countries represented by the Suzuki Association of the Americas have great concern that our method has evolved in a way that is not accessible to every member of our community. 

 

Of course, this was never Dr. Suzuki’s intention. His powerful conviction to his belief in the ability of ALL children led us to name our introductory teacher’s course “Every Child Can”. 

 

After much deep reflection, we are now wondering if this is really true. We have to ask the question, “Does the socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial makeup of our student body reflect that of our community?” Sadly, the answer to this question is “no.” 

 

In order to study this question, I enrolled in the inaugural class of Growing Equitable Music Studios (GEMS) with Clara Hardie, the founder and director of Detroit Youth Volume. During this intensive six-week course, we studied ways in which we can work toward building equity, inclusion, and access for students who for many reasons have not been a part of our schools.

 

As a result of this work, we are launching a new program at our school which we are calling Suzuki Access for All (SAFA). Our goal is to be able to provide scholarships and other support to students of color or financial hardship within our community. 

 

We want to take a step in the direction of building a student body at WSSTE and NSS that better reflects the communities that we serve. Our goal is to raise enough funds to support three students at each of our campuses for a minimum of three years.  To achieve this goal, we will need to raise approximately $10,000 per year. The SAFA program will run under the auspices of our 501c3 non-profit West Suburban Suzuki Foundation so that all donations will be tax deductible.   

 

If you feel that you would like to make a contribution of any amount to the scholarship fund you may use the link below.

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Sincerely,

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Director