Youth Outreach

Youth Outreach: The Old Town School of Folk Music values music and cultural expressions as a birthright for everyone regardless of age, ability, or background. Throughout the year, our faculty can be found singing and dancing with hundreds of public school students across the city, exploring the concepts of rhythm and movement to disabled children in special care facilities, entertaining young patients at the Comer Children's Hospital and sharing our Wiggleworms program with our community partners in North Lawndale. Help support our student financial aid and youth outreach programs by making a Membership donation or other gift to the Old Town School!

Artist-in-Residence Program: The Old Town School brings the joy and power of the arts to 12 partner Chicago Public Schools. We provide eight-week, in-depth educational experiences for over 1000 elementary school students each year, generously sponsored by the Polk Bros Foundation and others. Residencies span a variety of music and dance traditions, including Latin drumming, songwriting, instrument-making, tap dance, and much more. These cultural experiences support the Illinois State Board of Education learning standards for the Fine Arts. We can tailor programs to schools' interests and budgets.; Artist-in-Residence Program

Field Trips: The Field Trips Concert Series produces a variety of culturally specific educational performances, serving 9,000 students and teachers traveling to the Old Town School's acclaimed concert hall from across 56 different zip codes every year. Our field trip performances target state and national learning standards for a valuable and unique learning opportunity. A field trip at the Old Town School is often a child's first experience with a live performance.; Field Trips

Wiggleworms In Residence: For over six years, the Wiggleworms in Residence program has included year-round music instruction for over 400 children (ages birth to 5) at the Carole Robertson Center for Learning's three facilities in and around Lawndale, teacher training and support in music to 84 faculty, and enrichment activities for parents.

Financial Aid: The Old Town School also provides Financial Aid support to over 300 children and their families for group classes and private instruction to bridge more young artists to our talented faculty. The School's financial aid budget has more than tripled over the last five years to meet increasing demand.; Financial Aid | Membership