Our Programs
Music Therapy
Music therapy is an evidence-based allied health profession that is particularly suited to working with children as well as adults.
Sparks for Success! conducts school-based Music Therapy sessions for our students. Our groups are led by Board-Certified Music Therapists who are educated in trauma and trained in the specialized use of music intervention to reach non-musical goals.
“Our 4th graders just love dancing with scarves and singing songs with Sparks for Success! as they learn another way to manage their anxiety.”
We are igniting the spark of hope in the lives of our children and their families!
Three Sparks Music Therapy students are improvising on a keyboard.
Those goals are for students to develop critical skills they will need throughout their lives, like emotional regulation and impulse control. Our students are learning to communicate effectively and work alongside others and within groups. These skills are required to succeed in school, hold jobs, and become contributing members of our community.
While all this is serious work, our students are having lots of fun while learning! They get to play hand drums and other percussion instruments. You can see them dancing as they wave flowing scarves to the music. They sing and compose their own songs, and make up stories based on the music they hear.
Sparks for Success! is igniting the spark of hope in the lives of our children and their families!
Private Music Lessons
Another one of Sparks’ goals is to prepare our students to participate in group music activities. Gaining skill on an instrument results in students learning discipline and perseverence. By the time they reach middle school they are ready to join band or orchestra. And as they follow that path through high school, opportunities begin to open up for them.
For example, two of our middle school students were awarded full scholarships to UT’s Longhorn Band Camp. The music experience alone was incredible, but then add to that the life experience—an experience that ultimately opened their eyes to the possibility of higher education as they walked the UT campus and spent the week in the dorms.
Such experiences provide for our students the evidence of their willingness to stick with something for the long haul. Regardless of the job or career path they choose, their lives have been greatly enriched both through music and the friendships they’ve established along the way.
