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PRESS RELEASE
October 29th, 2009
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For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jessica Baron
Guitars In The Classroom
858-755-2239
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Guitars In The Classroom™ Increases Its Impact with Expanded Teacher Training Programs for the 2009-2010 School Year
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Offering a selection of proven programs that inspire and enable classroom teachers, and support music teachers, to integrate musical activities with general curricular content, Guitars In The Classroom™ (GITC) continues to expand its outreach to schools across America. This past Fall saw the growth of GITC, GITC-UP and AMIGO training to more than 50 classes in 38 communities and 20 states; including new programs in several southeastern states and Phoenix, AZ, providing the ongoing benefits of musical learning to an estimated 800,000 children a year.
 Efforts are currently underway to add new instructors and locations in Florida, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Hawaii in 2010 with the potential for as many as 75 training classes by the spring semester. In addition, new AMIGO training centers in San Jose, San Pablo, and Oakland, CA are scheduled to open in early 2010 thanks to a special grant blending teacher education, student participation, and free bilingual concerts with the popular Bay Area duo, Colibri, sponsored by the California Arts Council.
GITC, which began a decade ago, has grown to encompass seven levels of instruction for its original "Strum & Sing" music integration curriculum as well as AMIGO (Achievement through Music Integration with Guitars), an important new approach which is proving to be effective in narrowing the Achievement Gap between English Language Learners and their peers who are already fluent in English. Also growing is GITC-UP, GITC's program for integrating music into teaching credential instruction in university programs, which is funded by a generous grant from the John and Joan D'Addario Foundation and is now receiving attention and support from a number of progressive colleges.
 GITC is developing additional projects and initiatives that will allow the organization to continue both its growth and its mission for the years to come, and offers an online registration process that includes data collection for multiple purposes including measuring the program's impact on the music products industry. Ongoing research continues to show that GITC not only improves motivation, learning, and conduct in the classroom, it also creates new business for music dealers, teachers, and manufacturers.
GITC continues to thrive through the generosity of its sponsors and supporters, including the NAMM Foundation, the D'Addario Music Foundation, GAMA, and the Music for Life Alliance along with a host of the leading guitar and accessory manufacturers and distributors including Daisy Rock, Godin, KAMAN, Martin, Dunlop Manufacturing, Levy's Leathers, and D'Addario, among others.
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Guitars In The Classroom is a non-profit organization that provides innovative musical training for classroom teachers so all students can experience the joy and essential benefits of making music. Its programs deliver ongoing instruction, access to instruments, and educational materials that weave music across the academic curriculum in sustainable, grassroots programs, nationwide. For further information or to get involved, please contact GITC at 858-755-2239 or go online at www.guitarsintheclassoom.org.
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01-01-10
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