
99 DRUMS!
2003 SUMMARY & EVALUATION

The 99 Drums Music & Cultural Camp was held April 25, 26, and 27, 2003 on the campus of the Kansas State School for the Blind. Accessible Arts, Inc. (AAI) presented this weekend of hands-on music and dance workshops exploring the arts, history, customs, and food of West African, Native American, Mexican, Caribbean and Hmong cultures.  99 Drums brought together an integrated group of students ages 7-16, from across the state of Kansas and the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Ninety-nine students with and without disabilities from Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Lenexa, Overland Park, Augusta, Lee's Summit, Liberty, Leavenworth, Hayesville, Raytown, Olathe and Bonner Springs experienced music and dance in a celebration of diverse cultures in an inclusive environment.  Volunteers came from as far away as Wichita to assist in directing and accompanying students throughout the program. For many participants, 99 Drums was their first experience in dormitory living, multi-cultural drumming and dancing classes, and inclusive arts. 
During the first two days of the camp, professional artists from Traditional Music Society, Fiesta Mexicana and the Native American community presented exciting interactive workshops.   Students rotated from workshop to workshop and were immersed in multi-discipline, multi-sensory and multi-cultural experiences. On the final afternoon of 99 Drums, the students and artists collaborated to present a free public performance at the Kansas State School for the Blind.  This gave the students an opportunity to display their newfound skills to family and friends.  The performance also helped educate the community about the skills of children of all abilities.  99 Drums was generously sponsored by Curry Family Foundation, Kansas Arts Commission, VSA arts, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation Community Arts Fund, Theresa Foundation, Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and State Street Corporation.
As we began to plan the second incarnation of our 99 Drums project, we enlisted the help of the Traditional Music Society, YWCA of Greater Kansas City and Youth Opportunities Unlimited.  Each of these organizations works closely with at-risk youth in Kansas City, Kansas helped us determine the needs of these children.  It has been our experience that the arts enable children to more effectively communicate, creatively express themselves and prepare them for the learning and challenges they will face as adults.  The 99 Drums program was meant to address the artistic needs of children as characterized in these quotations:

"As part of the heritage of our culture, the arts are forms of understanding that are fundamental to what it means to be an educated person. They are the richest and most far-reaching expressions of human creativity, achievement and communication--from people to people, culture to culture, and age to age. To lack an education in the arts is to be profoundly disconnected from our history, from beauty, from other cultures, and from other forms of expression."  The Arts and Education: Partners in Achieving Our National Education Goals, Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts, 1995

"Children naturally sing, dance, draw and role-play in an effort to understand the world around them and communicate their thoughts about it.  A growing body of evidence demonstrates that when their caretakers engage them in these activities early in life on a regular basis, they are helping to wire the children's brains for successful learning."  Community Update, April, 1997

The 99 Drums program met the needs of children with disabilities by giving them an opportunity to participate in music and dance activities where they are often excluded.  It met their needs to socialize and explore relationships with their non-disabled peers. 99 Drums met many of those same needs for the other at-risk youth in attendance (non-disabled students from Kansas City, KS and other settings).  Throughout the workshops, the youth were encouraged to be creative in very active ways; to pound loudly on the drums; to move their bodies in energetic dance; to make some noise!  The students also learned the excitement of being part of a team and creating a music or dance performance together.  The impact on the at-risk youth and children with disabilities who participated was a better understanding of themselves and their peers. Non-disabled students who had the opportunity to participate gained new insights about children with disabilities and new skills in interacting with them. 
Prior to the event, the staff of Accessible Arts outlined several expected outcomes.  To measure the outcomes, the staff administered a pre-event survey and a post-event survey.  Other tools used to measure outcomes included an extensive video record of the activities, interviews with the children, and anecdotal information from staff, artists, volunteers and parents.  The following is a list of the expected outcomes and highlights of the data used to measure each.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Students will gain joy through creative expression.
* The student post-event survey asked, "Did you like playing instruments and dancing in the workshops?"  87% of the students responded 'I loved it' or 'A lot.' 
* The adult survey asked, "Do you think the children had fun?"  100% of the adults responded, 'Absolutely' or 'Most of the time.'
* When interviewed, Kristy, a girl with a visual impairment said, "It was a real learning experience.  You learn a lot...and you have fun even though it's a tiring experience.  You take away a lot."
* The video tape captures in vivid imagery, the joy of many of the children involved in the music workshops and in the public performance.

Students will experience excitement and interest in arts of music and dance.
* The pre and post-event surveys asked, "How much to you know about music or dance?"  The number of responses indicating 'A whole lot' or 'Pretty much' jumped 64% from pre-event to post-event.
* The pre and post-event surveys asked, "How much do you like making music or dancing?"  The number of responses indicating 'I love it' jumped 40% from pre-event to post-event.


Students will gain knowledge about the rich heritage of the West African, Native American, Mexican and Caribbean cultures.
* The pre and post-event surveys asked, "How much do you know about people in West Africa, Mexico, the Caribbean and about Native Americans?"  The number of responses indicating 'A whole lot' or 'Pretty much' jumped 156% from pre-event to post-event!
* When interviewed, Kristy, a girl with a visual impairment said, "If you don't experience something like this you don't really know how many differences there are between you and hundreds of other people.  Then if you experience all this stuff, you appreciate their culture more.  Instead of just saying, 'he does this' or 'he does that' you understand it more."
* A parent of one of the students wrote, "As parents, we actively pursue opportunities which allow our son to participate in new experiences and to broaden his perspective on the world and it's many different inhabitants.  This event is tailor-made for this sort of parenting philosophy."

There will be more acceptance and better understanding among children with disabilities and their non-disabled peers.
* The adult survey asked, "Did the program foster a better acceptance and understanding among children with disabilities and their non-disabled peers?"  92% of the adults responded 'Well done' or 'Most of the time.'
* The student post-event survey asked, "Did you learn anything new about yourself and the other kids at this camp?"  71% of the students responded 'A whole lot' or 'Pretty much.'
* The adult survey asked, "What was the best part of the program?"  Comments included, "Interaction between kids--watching them enjoy themselves," "Watching kids help one another and become friends," "Friendships between the mostly impaired kids and the kids with minimal impairments," etc.

The community will gain a better understanding of the abilities of all children.
* The adult survey asked, "What was the best part of the program?"  Comments included, "The acceptance of all the staff and volunteers.  Seeing the positive results of taking risks to learn new things and make new friends," "Watching the youth as they learned new information about each culture.  They learned more about similarities than differences,"  "Special ed/non-special ed kids together with the universal language of music," etc.
* One of the volunteers, an Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Education Department at KU Medical Center wrote,  "The consumers of information at 99 Drums! present a series of special challenges - probably as many challenges as there were individuals - and we were impressed at how very successful these efforts were!  The artists, volunteers, staff, and those all-important people behind the scenes worked together most effectively."
* The enthusiastic response from the audience of 225 at the public performance indicated they were all impressed by the work the children of all abilities had done.

