My name is Tanya, and I have been teaching vocal music for eleven years in Omaha, NE at a Title I middle school with a predominantly Hispanic and immigrant population. I fell in love with this school and community because of the emphasis on family and community. My students amaze me every day with their motivation to learn. Many come to school only speaking Spanish, and getting to watch them learn a new language and culture is inspiring; if they can do something so difficult, why can't I?

 

With this mantra, I have spent my years supporting my students in as many ways as I can, including creating multiple new music programs with the other music teachers. Together, we have brought advanced orchestra, advanced band, and honor choir to our school. A theater program has been established, with a musical performed every year, of which I am the music director. I also started a Tri-M Music Honor Society chapter at our school. This society is comprised of the top academic musicians in our school, and together we provide performance opportunities and complete multiple service projects throughout the school year for at our school and in our surrounding community.

 

Two and a half years ago, I started a show choir program as a new opportunity for our students to experience creating music. Each year, we have between twelve and fourteen performance opportunities in our surrounding community, including multiple competitions. This past year, I also started a show band to live perform the music for the show choir's performances.

 

Show choir is a brand new experience for the students at my school, and those who participate are in love with it. The curriculum combines singing, dancing, and stage presence to put on an 11-15 minute themed show. Our first competing year, our theme was Dance! and included swing dancing, mambo, waltzing, and rock n roll. Getting to give my students the experience of different dancing styles was a unique adventure for both them and me, and it was a ton of fun. We also won our first competition! Last year's theme was Born to be Brave, and our set included songs about being proud of yourself, where you're from, and how you contribute to the world. I especially loved that they got to perform a song in Spanish, as this is the first or second language for the majority of members.

 

There are many leadership opportunities in our show choir. Each voice part has 1-2 section leaders in charge of running sectionals and being vocal leaders. There are also dance captains; these students learn the choreography early and help teach the rest of the ensemble. Finally, I give students the opportunity to actually choreograph some of our songs if they want to. Giving my students these opportunities to be leaders and take ownership of their ensemble's success is wonderful to watch, especially when I get to see them stretch their creative sides.

 

One of the more frustrating aspects of directing show choir at my school is the economic disparity between our school and the other schools we compete against. To put it succinctly, one student described us as \"poor poor" when seeing the flashy outfits, lights, and sets some of the other show choirs had. These comments break my heart, as I want my students to have the same chances to be successful as these other schools. I do my best to make sure my students have the supplies needed for performances, using my own money to get pants, shirts, shoes, socks, bras, curling irons, hairspray, makeup, etc.

 

We are blessed to have an amazing high school we feed into who supports our program. They have donated dresses for our girls to wear for the past two years, platforms to practice on, and members from their show choirs to help with our rehearsals. I do the best I can with these dresses, figuring out who can fit in which dress, buying supplemental dresses because there aren't enough for the number of members I have, and coming up with a way to make sure everyone feels comfortable in what they're wearing.

 

This brings me to the reason for this Go Fund Me. I would like to purchase a new set of dresses for my ensemble. I think my students deserve to have something brand new to wear, these dresses will fit middle school girls better, and most importantly we will have enough of the same dress for every member to have one. I want my students to walk into every performance feeling confident and ready to give 100%, and the way they look seriously contributes to this feeling.

 

No matter their background or economic status, my students deserve to have all the materials needed to be successful in their show choir performances and competitions. We would be extremely grateful for your help in purchasing new dresses to achieve this goal.

If we do not reach our goal I will purchase as many dresses as I can with the amount donated, and will talk to my school about providing the difference. I will also donate my own money to make up the difference if necessary.