El Sistema Indianapolis

ABOUT US

Mission Our goal is to provide free ensemble music education to youth in central Indiana who lack access to music education and to support their development of the social and emotional skills and habits of mind they need to lead successful lives.

Vision We envision a world where every child in central Indiana has access to music through intensive ensemble training and performance to promote positive youth development and thriving communities.

Core Values

• Equity: we believe all kids have the right to reach their full potential and it is our responsibility to further access to music education for all
• Empowerment: we are committed to empowering youth by supporting their development of the skills they need to thrive
• Excellence: we hold ourselves and our educational values to the highest standards
• Impact: we measure the impact of our work and consistently drive to improve
• Sustainability: we are committed to sustaining this work by strengthening our collaboration and partnership with our community
• Joy: we believe in strengthening the spirit in all that we do
• Community: we encourage student-led collaboration and community building at all levels of our organization.

OUR STORY 

El Sistema Indianapolis (ESI) is based on the International El Sistema model of providing music educational programs for vulnerable and underserved youth to promote positive youth development and thriving communities. This framework stresses community, engagement, and empowerment of young people with ensemble music instruction as a vehicle to transform the lives of children and empower them to reach their full potential. 

Indianapolis has a great unmet need for music education as many schools continue to eliminate or scale back their music programs. ESI was founded in 2018, incorporated as a non-profit in 2020, and received 501c3 status in 2021. In the fall of 2020, we launched a free pilot program of ukulele instruction after school for elementary school students at IPS School 87. This program was provided online via Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifteen students, from grades 2-5, participated in a weekly group meeting, and individual or small group sessions with individual instructors. During the 2021-22 academic year, we served 40 students in grades 2-5 who attend two in-person sessions after school each week running for 11 weeks per semester or 22 weeks per academic year. 

The El Sistema board met in January 2022 to develop our organization's first strategic plan, which included identifying future growth opportunities. In 2022-23 and beyond, we plan to expand our program to other public schools or community centers in Indianapolis, to broaden our ensemble instruction to include other instruments, to increase the number of instructional days, and to develop a paid staff to administer the program.

OUR IMPACT

The 2021-22 program served 40 students in grades 2-5 at IPS 87 where over three-quarters of our current participants identify as BIPOC and over half of IPS 87's student population qualifies for free or reduced price lunch. We provide free instruction and instruments (ukuleles) for the students during their enrollment in the program so that there are no barriers to participate. At the completion of the fall and spring semesters, students performed a concert showcasing their learned skills on the ukulele (virtual and in person) and marched in the Broad Ripple Kiwanis holiday parade. We have also partnered with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (ICO) allowing students to visit and interact with ICO musicians. Surveyed parents and students provided overwhelming positive responses based on their participation in the program. We promote relationship building on multiple levels by fostering interactions among the students as well as the parents, school, and local neighborhood to develop a sense of belonging and community.  

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Join our community by providing the gift of music today. Your donation goes directly to our students. Here is the impact you can have:

$25 purchases sheet music for ALL students

$100 purchases a ukulele

$150 purchases a hard protective case for the ukulele to ensure instruments stay in good condition

$300 purchases snacks for a year

$500 purchases T-shirts for ALL students

$1000 provides transportation to a field trip or concert venue

$2000 provides a teacher to instruct our students

$3000 gives us the capacity to expand to more students