By Marian Pontz
“Children have their own walls to scale, and these children have so many more with one or both of their parents affected by incarceration,” says Brooke Beazley, program director of SWAN. “Our organization gives children from kindergarten to twelfth grade the opportunity to pursue their creativity and so much more.”
On a hot summer day, right in the middle of a heat wave, I met Beazley at Carter & MacRae Elementary School in Lancaster City. Within the walls of this elementary school, four days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., 35 children are enrolled in the Rising Stars summer music camp for five weeks. Each day, these students work with music teachers, counselors, social workers, and art and dance instructors and are provided opportunities to explore their creative desires through private and group music lessons. If – as many of us do – they encounter frustration or other emotional roadblocks, those professionals are there to work them through the event and empower them to overcome future obstacles. “Music unlocks students, relaxes them, and organically, the counselors are able to connect and help when needed,” Beazley shares.
SWAN’s goal is to give students the opportunity to discover their musical gifts and share them with others. Much research has reinforced what we already instinctively know: when a child gets involved in school music programs, their grades improve, their desire to attend their classes grows, and graduation rates rise. Music can be a pathway to this larger involvement and success.
On the busy day that I visit the SWAN summer program, students participate in morning choir, as well as classes in music composition, art, dance, social-emotional lessons, spiritual development, and private music lessons, plus a full breakfast and lunch. The students also meet guest speakers, like a professional hand drummer who visited the program earlier that week. Students are picked up by bus each morning. Their day then begins with a meeting attended by the teachers and students. Beazley shares that today’s topic was acts of kindness.
As we walk through the halls of the school, I meet a young lady named Annelise, who is learning to balance the bow in order to play the violin. Despite her dedication to this task, Annelise tells me that she actually likes art better. In fact, she made a bowl and is excited to use it.
In the next room, I meet a young man named Cameron, who is receiving a piano lesson. When I asked about his Minecraft t-shirt, he began playing the Minecraft theme; his teacher was quick to point out that he had not taught him that piece. What he did teach the young man: a classical duet that was powerful, clear, and deeply moving. At SWAN, however, just as Cameron jumped into learning the Minecraft tune as fast as he could, students are encouraged to express themselves and explore the paths that interest them. They are also encouraged and supported to learn and develop the skills and discipline necessary to be successful musicians, artists, and more.
SWAN’s Rising Stars Program is a 3.5-year initiative that includes summer camps and an extended day after-school program that began in January 2024. Initial enrollment was 10 students but the plan is to enroll 30 students this fall. Beazley believes so much in the power and effectiveness of this program that she believes it could be implemented around the entire country.
From 3:30-6:30 p.m., the Rising Stars program will mimic what Beazley calls “healthy family habits.” Students will enjoy an afternoon snack, a discussion of their school day as a way to tap into their social and emotional learning, homework help, art, music, and more, while having mental health mentors available for immediate support according to Beazley.
These students are living with trauma and will continue to do so. However, perhaps the tools they learn within the SWAN program might strengthen their capacity to grow, develop, and thrive. Beazley emphasizes that, while SWAN uses rubrics and other progress development measurements, progress is never a straight line and may not be evident for weeks, months, or even years after a student joins their program. Instead, the Rising Stars program is designed to support each child like a parent might, and – much like in parenting – sometimes, our work can not be seen until our children have already grown into the people they want to become.
SWAN has involved over a thousand students in the musical arts during its 13-year tenure. Their team is incredibly proud to share that one of their first students returned to work as an assistant at summer camp while a junior in high school and went on to Edinboro University, completing two years of study in art and music therapy.
“She was so good with the kids. She understood everything they were going through and knew how to reach them,” Beazley says. Success stories like these abound. Teaching students to have something to connect to and find joy in that also gives them a sense of purpose and discipline is a program that will lift our most vulnerable citizens and provide them with a path of light.”
“I love what I do and what I get to do,” one of SWAN’s music teachers shares. “I get to experience kids making music, writing lyrics, finding their voice, and honestly expressing themselves.”
