The recipient entity's physical address:
           205 N. 4th St. Baton Rouge, LA 70801

The recipient entity's mailing address (if different):
           PO Box 788 Baton Rouge, LA 70821

Type of Entity (for instance, a nonprofit corporation):  Non-Profit Corporation

If the entity is a corporation, list the names of the incorporators:
          

The last four digits of the entity's taxpayer ID number:  8793

What is the dollar amount of the request?  $1,000,000

What type of request is this?  General Appropriation

Is this entity in good standing with the Secretary of State?  Yes

Provide the name of each member of the recipient entity's governing board and officers:
           Executive Board Members
George Bell: 15402 Campanile Ct, BR, LA 70810
Branden Barker: 10522 Oakley Trace, BR, LA 70809
Rev Raymond Jetson: 838 Woodstone Dr BR, LA 70808
Nanette Noland: 7 Country Club Place, BR, LA 70809 (CHAIRMAN)
Beverly Brooks Thompson: 204 Woodgate Boulevard, BR, LA 70808
David Warrington: 417 Delgado Dr BR, LA 70808
Jody Hanet 1563 Audubon Ave. BR, LA 70806 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Brian Gallion 3517 Spanish Trail East, Zachary, LA 70791
Samuel Travethan 4900 Claycut Rd. Unit 12, Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Provide a summary of the project or program:
           Kids' Orchestra, an afterschool program, must expand and reach Kindergarten - 5th grade children across the state of Louisiana. This funding will help us grow not only in East Baton Rouge Parish but to areas of Louisiana that so desperately need high caliber after school programs for their youngest students.
With this funding, at least 500 more students can participate in this phenomenal program and all its offerings.
Kids' Orchestra (KO) is in high demand. The largest elementary afterschool music and academic enrichment program of its kind in the United States, KO has grown from just 50 children to over 800 in its 8 years of existence. Waiting lists include children from the 26 schools in which we currently serve, more elementary schools in Baton Rouge, entire towns such as Zachary, Central, and Lafayette, and parishes such as Ascension and Tangipahoa.
This project would begin to address our massive waiting list giving more children in Louisiana KO experience.
This project will model the existing KO program. Two(2) days or four(4) days a week (depending upon the school partnerships and funders), children from public, private, and charter schools in areas in East Baton Rouge parish or surrounding parishes will gather after school with an instrument of their choice (violin, viola, cello, double bass, trombone, trumpet, flute, clarinet, and percussion), provided at no cost, to learn to play an instrument in a group setting. On Monday evenings, at least 100 children from across the community will sing in the Kids' Orchestra Kids' Choir. Two Sundays a month, 150 children rehearse in one of our three orchestras. In addition, KO will provide all academic resources for LEAP test preparation, homework help, and STEM days including tutors and mentors. KO will contract a private bus company to provide transportation to and from schools and EVERY time KO meets, children will have a nutritious meal. All children will perform in concerts at least twice a year. The cost is $1200 per students for 2 days per week and $1800 for 4 days per week. Tuition is based on household income. All children receive either a partial or full scholarship.

What is the budget relative to the project for which funding is requested?:
          Salaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . $250,000
          Professional Services. . . $275,000
          Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . $150,000
          Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . $100,000
          Major Repairs . . . . . . . $0
          Operating Services. . . . $125,000
          Other Charges. . . . . . . $100,000

Does your organization have any outstanding audit issues or findings?  No

If 'Yes' is your organization working with the appropriate governmental agencies to resolve those issues or findings?
          

What is the entity's public purpose, sought to be achieved through the use of state monies?
          The mission of Kids' Orchestra is to impact children's lives by creating a sense of community through afterschool musical training and enrichment programs.

The vision of Kids' Orchestra is to increase inter-racial and cultural harmony in Louisiana by engaging children through music.


The concept for Kids' Orchestra (KO) originated in 2010 to address three converging trends in Baton Rouge: 1) continued racial, geographic, and economic divisions across the parish; 2) the elimination of elementary music education programs; and 3) consistently low performance scores among many schools serving low income families.

Kids’ Orchestra addresses the lack of ACCESS to high quality, affordable music and academic afterschool enrichment programs for elementary students in Baton Rouge, especially for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The quality of our teachers and music instruction is hard to match! When public schools eliminated music education during the school day, many children in grades K-5 lost the opportunity to sing in a choir, play an instrument, or perform in an orchestra. Under-resourced families cannot afford the instruments, nor fees to hire a post-graduate music instructor for lessons— we provide both to 800 elementary children. We also intentionally use music to cross barriers of economics, race, and ethnicity by bringing together diverse groups of children without the restrictions of school zones or zip codes.

Besides the enrichment around music and diversity, we meet the challenge for many working poor parents to access a safe, educationally enhanced learning environment by offering homework help, LEAP test preparation and tutoring after school that bases participant scholarships on household income. Nearly 300 students receive full scholarships.

What are the goals and objectives for achieving such purpose?
          GOALS:
1. Students will cross racial divisions through the power of music

2. Students will learn to play an instrument or sing in a choir with confidence and success

3. Students will achieve academic success as a result of participating in Kids' Orchestra


OBJECTIVES
1. Children (grades 2-5) will achieve 80% or better mastery of their chosen instrument as measured through instructor assessments each semester on the appropriate level (beginner, intermediate, advanced).
2. Children in K-1 Foundations classes will demonstrate 80% or better understanding of music concepts such as notes, beat, contour, rhythm, and melodic patterns through observation check lists ((Note also that early literacy research shows that music education grows early literacy skills such as vocabulary and critical listening).
3. KO sites will have an average weekly school attendance among KO participants of 70% or higher, measured through school attendance records/report cards.
4. 70 % of parents of KO youth will perceive a growth in self-confidence, peer interaction, and attitude toward school by the end of one year of participation, as measured by outside evaluation surveys.
5. The grades of students who participate in KO will, on average, increase by 15 percent after one year of participation, as measured by outside evaluation.






Kids’ Orchestra incorporates the following additional STRATEGIES to improve educational and personal outcomes:
1. Provide homework assistance and tutoring during each meeting;
2. Create environments conducive to learning that nurture interaction between students and teaching artists through small child/teacher ratios;
3. Incorporate both whole group and small group learning activities;
4. Select students each program day to become helpers, with staff supervision;
5. Use the “buddy system” to aid instruction, allowing students to help other students;
6. Work closely with schools to connect children to standards based test preparation before spring testing;
7. Provide a group of adults who teach children how to sing or play instruments while making connections with elementary students to ensure all children feel a part of the group at each site; and
8. Provide opportunities through neighborhood music performances for students to build relationships with others from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, with concerts branded as “Creating Community Harmony.”

Evaluation and Outcomes: Kids’ Orchestra utilizes two different levels of evaluation, 1) an outside evaluation by a college professor/researcher that tracks and compares school grades, behaviors, attendance, and growth in personal habits such as confidence and self-worth among KO participants and non-participants, and 2) multiple teacher-administered assessments based on the curriculum, measuring accomplishments on chosen instruments, music vocabulary, and ability to read music.
Our outside evaluation, with results now across the last two years of operation, uses a scientific methodology for random sampling for focus groups and paper surveys of classroom teachers, parents, music teachers, and participants (youth in grade 2 and above). Schools assist with report card comparisons in order to protect student privacy. Grades of KO youth are consistently higher than the district average for their grade level and also consistently higher by 15% than their non-KO peers at each school. The entire report is available (www.kidsorchestra.org.).

What is the proposed length of time estimated by the entity to accomplish the purpose?
           2 years

If any elected or appointed state official or an immediate family member of such an official is an officer, director, trustee, or employee of the recipient entity who receives compensation or holds any ownership interest therein:
     (a) If an elected or appointed state official, the name and address of the official and the office held by such person:
                 n/a
    
     (b) If an immediate family member of an elected or appointed state official, the name and address of such person; the name, address, and office of the official to whom the person is related; and the nature of the relationship:
                 n/a

     (c) The percentage of the official's or immediate family member's ownership interest in the recipient entity, if any:
                 n/a

     (d) The position, if any, held by the official or immediate family member in the recipient entity:
                  n/a

If the recipient entity has a contract with any elected or appointed state official or an immediate family member of such an official or with the state or any political subdivision of the state:
(a) If the contract is with an elected or appointed state official, provide the name and address of the official and the office held by such person: 
               n/a

(b) If the contract is with an immediate family member of an elected or appointed state official:
          Provide the name and address of such person:
               n/a

          Provide the name, address, and office of the official to whom the person is related:
                n/a

          What is the nature of the relationship?  n/a

(c) If the contract is with the state or a political subdivision of the state, provide the name and address of the state entity or political subdivision of the state:
                 n/a

(d) The nature of the contract, including a description of the goods or services provided or to be provided pursuant to the contract:
               n/a


Contact Information
name:  Jody Hanet 
                                       address:  PO Box 788
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
                                       phone:  225-922-46596
                                       fax:  225-922-4660
                                       e-mail:  jhanet@kidsorchestra.org
                                       relationship to entity:  Executive Director