The Wheatt Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization dedicated to preserving music education. 

MISSION STATEMENT

To promote music and the performing arts through education.

MAJOR PURPOSE

When school districts struggle financially, cutting fine arts programs like music education is often the first response. Advocates cite several reasons against these decisions, including evidence that supports music's role in promoting students' academic performance and problem-solving skills, and providing opportunities to work with peers unlike themselves. Supporters view these skills as the foundation for success in later life, regardless of whether a career in music teaching or performance is pursued.

We see music education as an essential ingredient to academic programs. The presence of exceptional art and music teachers indicates a similar standard in other subjects. Children are more likely to strive for excellence when they're around peers doing likewise. The Wheatt Foundation helps support music education for not just children but for adults wishing to continue their musical pursuits.

Research shows that musical training improves cognitive skills. Formal musical training is also associated with improved recall and verbal proficiency, Children and adults who develop these abilities consistently are more likely to succeed in other subjects as well.

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

The question is,(Has students learning kept pace with these changes that started happening more than a century ago? Or, is it way past time for music education to undergo a metamorphosis of sorts, as some scholars have suggested?)

We teach music and conduct research in the area of music curriculum development. What is currently offered in music classes is almost exclusively large instrumental and vocal ensembles that perform under the direction of one person. However, there has been a fundamental shift in how people experience music in the world.

The average American adolescent listens to music for approximately 4.5 hours per day. So, 18 percent of all of the time in their lives is spent bathing themselves in the sounds that inspire them.

Much of the music that adolescents listen to is created digitally and produced through software, keyboards, touch pads, guitars and drum kits. However, much of the music in the schools is based on conservatory models of musical transmission with roots in Western European art music.