Kids From Wisconsin Announce 2021 Board of Directors
Adding Diversity and Community Enrichment in Milwaukee
Gabriella T. Deyi. Photo courtesy of Kids from Wisconsin.
Milwaukee— January 28, 2021 —Kids From Wisconsin (KFW) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members, Gabriella T. Deyi and Louis Williams. Deyi works for Logitech as a lead video storyteller emphasizing communications & advocacy. Williams is the community relations manager at Courage MKE. “Both of these vibrant individuals will add much-needed diversity amongst the current board along with the willingness to serve in meaningful ways on our community enrichment committee,” said Michael Sander, the Kids From Wisconsin executive director.
Positive MKE Impact
With the new community enrichment program “Music In Me” being offered as a residency program at inner-city Milwaukee schools without music curricula, the involvement of Deyi and Williams will be an important piece to the success of the residency. Dana Gagnon Hubka, an educator at Milwaukee’s Craig Montessori School, recently committed to deploying the “Music in Me” program at her school and likes what she sees so far.
“The energy and enthusiasm is incredible!” said Hubka. “I observed our students smiling, laughing, engaged, dancing, moving, and loving every second of it,” she said. Hubka called it an outstanding team and program. “We know that involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill,” Hubka said. “Music and movement improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. We are confident that this program will help the students develop skills like resilience and grit. And in turn, those skills will help them master having a growth mindset in every aspect of their lives. As Oscar Wilde expressed, ‘Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.’”
Louis Williams. Photo courtesy of Kids from Wisconsin.
“Music in Me” is comprehensive, 12-week music residency program, focusing on teaching music to inner-city elementary students in grades 3-6. KFW developed the program after learning about the lack of music education programs in the Milwaukee Public School District. (See attached: “Dearth of MPS music programs disproportionately affects low-income, African American students”.) The residency embraces Wisconsin’s standards for General Music Education and fills the gap by incorporating vocal, instrumental and movement principles. https://www.kidsfromwisconsin.org/outreach
Kids From Wisconsin, founded in 1969, have toured across the Midwest, performing a two-hour Vegas-style revue of song, dance, and music to audiences of over 120,000 each summer. The tour includes performances daily at the Wisconsin State Fair. The group showcases Wisconsin’s brightest musicians, singers and dancers, ages 15-20, and has been declared “Wisconsin’s Premiere Musical Ambassadors.” Bookings are quickly filling up with outdoor performances scheduled for this summer. This season’s premiere performance is scheduled in Wauwatosa on July 4th. Currently 5 dates remain open to complete the 2021 tour, which is titled: “Live! In Living Color.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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