YMI provides 10 hours per week of enriching activities outside of the school day, with students receiving choral and instrumental instruction, homework help, recreation time, and a healthy snack during each program day. YMI takes place at the Dolores Gonzales Elementary School, Monday through Thursday from 3:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. for 26 weeks of the school year.
YMI is offered free of charge to students of our Title 1 partner schools, with the goal of providing a life-changing experience to economically and socially disadvantaged student populations. Our measurements indicate that 75 percent of YMI students are of Hispanic or Latino heritage, and 50 percent of YMI students are from bilingual homes (40 percent speak Spanish as a primary language; 10 percent speak Chinese as a primary language).
Our rigorous process of data collection includes annual surveys of students’ classroom teachers, parents, and academic records, all of which demonstrate consistent patterns of academic and behavioral improvements in YMI students. For example, over the course of the last pre pandemic full, 2018/19 season 85 percent of YMI students either improved their reading grades or maintained an A or B throughout the year, while 92 percent showed the same results in their math scores. More than 89 percent of parents assert that YMI has led to positive changes in their child’s behavior at home. Classroom teachers state that 53 percent of YMI students showed increased self-confidence and greater cooperation with others over the course of their participation in the program. One teacher commented, “The students have shown longer attention spans in the classroom, the ability to recall progression steps, and increased their accountability because of the program.”
We expect a 100 percent on-time high school graduation rate for students who maintain enrollment in YMI.
The Young Musician Initiative is part of a worldwide movement known as El Sistema (a nickname for what is now known as the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar), which uses music as a vehicle for social change. Begun in Venezuela in 1975, El Sistema has produced world-class symphonic musicians, such as Gustavo Dudamel (current Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), and also has a proven track record of changing the life trajectory of at-risk youth, propelling them toward positive futures both inside and outside of the music world.
The NMPhil is proud to partner again with Dolores Gonzales Elementary School as a home for the program since Fall of 2022.
For more information or to schedule a visit, contact Program Director:
Laurie Lopez
ymi@nmphil.org
