mentors

Millions of children in schools enjoy music each day by singing a song during circle time, learning to play an instrument, or singing a part in a chorus. This month, musicians and music educators celebrate Music in Our Schools Month sponsored by the National Association for Music Education.

Some Chicago students will leave their high schools equipped with a diploma, a degree and a promise of a job interview.

On a Saturday morning in August, Philip Cleary stood in a white, fluorescent-lit classroom in Washington Heights, facing a dozen sleepy seventh graders he and others are training to pass an entrance exam for the city’s seven specialized high schools.