*** ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THIS PAGE were created by local students ***
WHAT WE ARE DOING IN CHATTANOOGA SCHOOLS
At Dynamo, we are thrilled about how our work at both Howard Connect Academy and Howard High School has panned out. We engaged a massive number of students, equipped them with industry leading skillsets, created top tier career opportunities for them, and provided hundreds of hours of mentorship training. All of this in addition to leading professional development for teachers, opening a new teaching studio in a marginalized neighborhood, and expanding after school programs to three other schools in the district.
The past two years have been incredible and we are very excited to be moving into the next couple years stronger than ever!
At the start of the HCDE 2022-23 school year, Dynamo Studios plans to continue this work through funding and staffing three full-time teacher positions that will work between Howard Connect Academy (HCA), and Howard High School as well as supporting programming at Chatt Prep, Dalewood Middle School, and Center for Creative Arts. Additionally, one of these positions directs robust mentorship program supporting students well beyond the classroom.
All in school programs follow various teaching standards that we structure the classes/programs around (national arts media and A/V or the media and A/V CTE standards) so that students are able to receive credit for their time in these classes. Beyond our in-school related arts classes, the Dynamo Studios teachers support after-school/extracurricular programming 4-5 days per week. Through this programming, we will impact roughly 2,500 participating students.
We have already invested over $400,000 into the school district over the past two years through funding full-time teaching positions, running full-time programs 12 months each year, and purchasing production equipment for students. We’ve also supported and led to over $300,000 in funding for other education focused projects we’ve facilitated in the community. Next school year, our total direct investment into our local schools is on track to cross the $700,000 mark.
““Kessler, I am in awe of everything you guys are doing at Dynamo. Public education — and the kids served through it — are so fortunate to have opportunities like Dynamo provides. This truly is life changing programming!””
OUR PARTNER ASK
We are currently seeking a total funding amount of $300,000 from foundations and program partners. This funding will, most importantly, maintain our partnerships with the local schools by supporting three full time teacher positions, a contractor position, and the purchasing of the additional equipment needed to expand our mobile production lab to other local schools (keep in mind that up to this point our partner schools haven’t incurred any expenses). At present we are well on our way to securing funding thanks partnerships with orgs like the Les Paul Foundation, but it is imperative that the school district come to the table in some form or fashion. The first question out of every major donor’s mouth, local and national, is “has the district come to the table yet?” They ask this question for good reason because they want to know if our local school district is prioritizing innovative programs in their schools that are working.
OUR ASK FOR HCDE
With all of that being said, we are seeking $100,000 in support from HCDE to support these incredible partnerships and the top tier opportunities we are collectively creating for our local students. (This will be $100,000 of our total $300,000 program budget)
*** Please note that one donor is willing to match up to $200,000 at $100,000 per year for the next two years ***
THE MAGIC OF DYNAMO
Local middle school student creating content for Grammy winning platinum record selling band August Burns Red
What makes our programs so special is that we take learning well beyond the typical classroom experience. Participating students are paired with professional creatives in the community where they are able to apply what they have learned in a real world professional setting.
Not only that, we also bring in creatives to partner with teachers and students in their classrooms as well. This allows for us to bridge the gap between the professional world and the academic world.
By putting industry leading equipment in the hands of students and creating high level opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned in the real world, we are changing the trajectory of their lives.
WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT DYNAMO STUDIOS PROGRAMMING
There are a lot of great reasons to support our work at Dynamo Studios. For one, we create life changing opportunities for students on a regular basis with industry leading professionals, we put industry standard equipment in the hands of students, we even helped open a school! — And most importantly we did all of this for FREE because we believe this program model is that important and we believe that it works that well.
The really cool part? This is part of our students’ free and public education. Students arable to receive academic credit for their work with Dynamo too!
Even better yet, our core students’ grades are improving across the board, their behavior is improving, and their motivation to attend school is through the roof.
We are making a real difference here in Chattanooga and its all due to intentional strategic partnerships, robust learning models, mentorship, allocating hgih end resources/tech, and creating strong bridges for the community to be actively involved with our students academic lives.
IN ADDITION TO IN SCHOOL AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS…
Mentorship is an essential component of achieving success in the music industry (and every other industry). It’s also been proven to successfully combat trauma and challenges encountered in adolescence. As a direct response to poverty and a drive to support the needs presented by the diverse student community that we serve, we will be staffing a full-time position to direct a robust mentorship program supporting students within and well beyond the classroom.
Students will be paired with creative industry professionals in the local community that will serve as mentors to the students. These mentors will support student mental health development and they will also be working with students on creating professional experiences where the students will apply what they've been learning in consistent professional settings.
“Mentored students are 130% more likely to hold leadership positions.
Mentored students are 55% more likely to enroll in college.
”
Our Mission
Dynamo Studios provides an environment and resources for students to harness their creative potential using the arts, education, and technology as a catalyst to promote cultural growth, community growth, and real world opportunities for participants at free or reduced rate.
“DYNAMO STUDIOS HELPS STUDENTS ACHIEVE SELF ACTUALIZATION, DIGITAL LITERACY, AND CAREER READINESS THROUGH HIGH LEVEL EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AT LARGE. WE ARE HERE TO CHANGE LIVES AND CREATE SUSTAINABILITY FOR OUR STUDENTS.”
Our Vision
We want to see our programs inspiring, empowering and equipping the youth of Chattanooga to not just be successful in the music industry, but also successful in life.
We want to give them everything they need so that they become the next generation of elite professionals in the music industry, establishing Chattanooga as a hub for the creation of music and entrepreneurship.
PROGRAM AND PROJECT SUMMARY
The purpose of all of our programs is two fold. We use the music industry, and the creative industries contained within the music industry, to help students 1) reach Self Actualization and 2) advance their economic position because all programs are built around a workforce development model. In a nutshell -- we teach them a skillset and then we immediately create opportunities for them to apply and capitalize on those skill sets within the real world beyond the walls of a classroom environment.
In order to achieve those goals, Dynamo Studios will fund and staff three full time teacher positions that will work between Howard Connect Academy (HCA), and Howard High School. There are various teaching standards that we will structure the classes/programs around (national arts media and A/V or the media and A/V CTE standards) so that students are able to receive credit for their time in these programs. Beyond our in-school related arts classes, the Dynamo Studios teachers will be supporting after-school/extracurricular programming 4-5 days per week as well.
The reason we are supporting these schools specifically is because we want to establish a consistent pipeline for students within their feeder pattern to learn this technology and industry from 7th grade all the way up till 12th grade when they graduate allowing them to enter directly into the workforce or pursue a college education. Theoretically, these students should be graduating with more experience than the average college grad in this specific focus area.
Accessibility is of the utmost importance to our organization. We pride ourselves on being intentional about building the overwhelming vast majority of our programming around the needs of the inner city. Additionally, we have been very intentional about promoting opportunities for our female students because less than 5% of the professionals in the music industry are women.
IMPACT PROJECTIONS
PROJECTIONS FOR THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR
2,500 students directly impacted
Open one new music/media production studio space
25 live audio video projects
550+ music/audio production classes
10+ major touring artist sessions with the students
48+ high level professional opportunities for students
75+ photo libraries delivered to community partners and clients (all student created)
25 high level video projects (commercial, music video, and mini documentaries)
40+ artists/musicians directly supported through media creation (all student created) (local and national touring artists)
5+ schools directly impacted through programming
DELIVERABLES
A robust curriculum published and made available for ALL HCDE music, media, and art teachers!
Robust student portfolios
Published student work in local+national journals
Printed and published media lookbooks
A plethora of blogs and digital media assets
Marketing plans for partner organizations collaborating with students content creators
10 high level music videos for artists (local and national) produced by students
A TON of recorded projects produced and engineered by students
WHERE WILL PROGRAMMING BE HAPPENING AND WHO ARE WE TARGETING FOR IMPACT?
All of our full-time in school programming is slated for inner city schools where the student population is composed almost entirely by minority students. These programs are focused on the hyper specific needs of students from historically marginalized communities. We will focus most of our efforts on Howard Connect Academy and Howard High School (while also making plans to expand full-time programs to other partner schools).
Our after school programs are accessible to other people around the community, but even then many of those programs happen at our partner schools so that our inner city students can continue/further their learning. In addition to after-school programming at both of the Howard Schools, we will be running programs at Chatt Prep, Brainerd High School, and the Center for Creative Arts.
Programs that happen outside of schools at partner locations are open for anyone above the age of 13 interested in growing/refining their craft.
Additionally, we will be working with local arts organizations to collaborate on programming and support their respective missions.
IMPACT DEMOGRAPHICS
HOWARD CONNECT ACADEMY
School Demographics
89% Minority Population
76.4% African American
12.7% Hispanic
5.5% White
Student Population 300
49% Female
51% Male
100% Free or Reduced Lunch
HOWARD HIGH SCHOOL
School Demographics
96.3% Minority Population
45.7% African American
50.6% Hispanic
1.7% White
Student Population 1,120 total
49% Female
51% Male
100% Free or Reduced Lunch
PROJECT BUDGET LINE ITEMS
Staffing for In-School Programming
Contractors for Extracurricular Programming
Teaching Materials
Classroom Technology
Programmatic Technology
Through community partnership, Dynamo Studios cultivates an innovative culture founded in music production that is essential for the sustained entrepreneurial growth of our city. You can make a difference.
If you are interested in making a financial contribution to support our programs, please reach out to Kessler Cuffman at (513)377-1293 / kcuffman@DynamoStudios.org
OR click the "Sponsor & Give" button below.