Fairfield University Professor

Wins $70,000 Grant

FAIRFIELD — Laura Nash, PhD, director of classical music in the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University, has received two grants to fund a two-year project in Bridgeport Public Schools called “Music for an Urban District: Curricular Innovation.” The Dana Foundation has awarded the project $65,000; The ASCAP Foundation awarded an additional $5,000.

The Dana Foundation grant will fund a two-year program to help teachers develop a multicultural music curriculum for middle school students in Bridgeport schools. Studies show that students who are involved in a school program during their high school years are less likely to drop out. The Dana Foundation, founded in 1950, is a private philanthropic organization with interests in neuroscience, immunology, and arts education.

“If we get kids interested in music in middle school, the hope is they will continue with it through high school,” Dr Nash said, noting that the program builds on professional development provided to Bridgeport music teachers by a three-year US Department of Education grant awarded to the university and the Bridgeport Public School System last year. “There’s a high rate of students who don’t finish high school in Bridgeport. A music program can provide them with the sense of community they need to stay in school and connect them with their teachers.”

In addition are the academic benefits of studying music. “Music engages the whole brain. It’s been shown that music students do better in math and other subjects,” Dr Nash said.

“Also music provides a creative outlet for kids, and it doesn’t matter if English isn’t their first language. You don’t need to know English fluently to be a total participant in a music class.”