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Ronna Kaplan - Director of Music Therapy
As has been our tradition for 47 years, we provide ongoing music therapy services at The Music Settlement's University Circle campus and at a variety of partner medical, educational and social service agencies. We continue to have a multitude of opportunities to utilize our creativity and offer greater service to the community!
We have launched new programming, both in-house as well as in outreach settings. In our effort to respond to the needs of families of those with special needs, we have also been able to develop more interdepartmental programs, which is part of The Music Settlement's recent strategic plan.
•· The 2012-13 school year is the second for an exciting new program, ArtSNPlay. This twice weekly playgroup for children ages 3-6 is co-taught by an early childhood instructor and a Board Certified Music Therapist and gives children with special needs to "bridge" with their peers who are "typically developing" while practicing important social and communication skills. •· New in the 2012-13 school year is our partnership with the Cleveland Public Libraries Read to the Beat program. A Board Certified Music Therapist and a music educator collaborate to bring music-based literacy learning to children in inner city day care settings. •· Our partnership with Art Is Education through Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio arts integration program has allowed our music therapists to reach more preschool and elementary students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and to provide additional resources and training for classroom teachers. •· We have recently begun to expand music therapy and music instrument and ensemble opportunities to the Tremont neighborhood, thanks to a generous grant from Starting Point for Out of School Time activities. •· All three of The Music Settlement's artistic departments are working together to serve students at Mary M. Bethune Elementary School, both after school and on Saturdays.
In July 2013 we began a partnership with a "sister" organization, Solon Center for the Arts. We now send a music therapist to SCA to provide weekly individual music therapy sessions to a growing number of clients.
Also as part of our strategic plan, the Music Therapy Staff has been working diligently to pilot and present a new offering to seniors at the Cleveland School of the Arts. I designed M-TIP, or the Music Therapy Introduction Project, to allow students, particularly those with artistic talents, to become aware that music therapy is a viable career option, explore at an introductory level how music and music therapy may be utilized with individuals with a variety of diagnoses and issues, and gain sensitivity and understanding in how to approach and address those with disabilities. It is hoped our program will serve as a model or template for other organizations, such as other community schools of the arts to introduce such a course to further diversify and strengthen the field of music therapy.
Our Department of Music Therapy is comprised of lifelong learners, all participating in continuing education opportunities as part of our recertification process. One of the "perks" of being a music therapist at The Music Settlement is earning Continuing Music Therapy Education credits while at work. This winter, we were able to provide our music therapists with the opportunity to complete an online course in the use of iPads in music therapy. Equipping the staff with technological resources was another goal of the strategic plan. iPads for all music therapy staff members and the professional development opportunities were made possible through a generous grant from the Kulas Foundation.
We continue to be very proud of our entire very versatile and talented music therapy staff and the work they do. A big "thank you" to all of you who support, trust and have chosen The Music Settlement! We invite others of you readers in the community to come and visit us to experience what we do firsthand. Please watch our web site for announcements regarding our special events to celebrate The Music Settlement's centennial; our free Arts for Us concerts; future parent/caregiver discussion groups; registration and new offerings; and much more! Feel free to contact me throughout the year by phone (extension 142) or email (rkaplan@themusicsettlement.org) if you have any questions, comments or concerns about our music therapy program. Please also follow my column on music therapy on The Huffington Post!
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Hello, and thank you for visiting The Music Settlement’s Music Therapy page!
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