Erie Art Museum

The Erie Art Museum has partnered with the three largest early childhood providers in Erie County and four social service agencies serving recently resettled refugees to provide children, aged 0-5, with programs to promote school readiness through music and song. The project will train staff at the partner childcare providers and reach parents through an outreach campaign. At the same time, the museum will train refugee women for positions in American daycare where they can promote school readiness through music and song from their diverse cultures. The project intends to use and build an understanding of music’s importance in child development, building social, cognitive, and motor skills, to allow Erie’s higher-than-average number of preschoolers in poverty to start kindergarten at the same level as their more affluent peers.