Lead Hill Schools in Arkansas is a grantee of The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF). With support from The NAMM Foundation, MHOF donated $19,000 worth of instruments to the school over the summer in order to set the school up for success for the upcoming school year.
“The donations of instruments from The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation provide opportunity. The opportunity for a student, without the means of purchasing their own instrument, to experience music,” said Phyllis Brixey, Music Instructor for Lead Hill Schools.
Lead Hill Schools is a K-12 campus serving 375 students in the rural/isolated Lead Hill community. In the past, students practiced with aged instruments while some were beyond repair.
“The district’s budget allowed for the purchase of one instrument per year to replace them, and this simply wasn’t enough,” said Tricia Steel, Program Director of The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.
Steel soon discovered that beginning band students were placed in the same class as advanced students, resulting in a frustrating learning environment. Meeting with the principal though, produced a silver lining.
“The school incorporated a new beginning band class this school year,” said Steel. “Advanced students are now scheduled into a separate class from beginners!”