After-School Piano Camp Strikes a Chord with Students

Published on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Strengthening Schools Grants

Piano lessons can be a valuable experience for kids, but not everyone has access to an instrument or lessons.

Michelle Force, choir teacher for Springbrook Middle School and fine arts coordinator for Adrian Public Schools, is helping students overcome these hurdles with the help of a Strengthening Schools Grant from Midwest Energy & Communications, funded via partnership dollars through our power supplier Wolverine Power Cooperative.

The Program

Springbrook’s new Piano Exploration Camp combines foundational instruction with student-led creative freedom.

Two days each week, students stay after school to learn the instrument. A classroom at Springbrook is equipped with a piano keyboard for each student to practice on.

Sessions begin with self-led exploration, where students are encouraged to make their own discoveries and build upon what they already know. An instructor then provides the day’s guided lesson. These typically cover the fundamentals, like key placement and reading sheet music.

To close out the session, students are given time to share what they’ve learned with each other. This can include anything from new techniques to functions of the keyboard.

Why It Works

By providing a free opportunity to practice with a keyboard and take lessons, Springbrook’s Piano Exploration Camp ensures that any student can learn as long as they’re interested.

Once they’re in the program, Force says students begin making connections with things they’re learning in other classes, giving them a deeper appreciation of the material. Choir students, for example, find that once they can play a note on the keyboard, it becomes easier to sing because they know what it feels and sounds like when they play it.

“One student was even able to take a song that she had learned on viola and transfer it to piano,” Force says.

How It Happened

The Fine Arts program at Adrian Public Schools gives students of all ages a chance to develop their artistic skills. Art, music, and drama programs are available for all ages. Once students reach high school, they can choose to enroll in a number of specialized classes like 2D Design, Photography, Guitar, and much more. The program has been so successful that it has led students to transfer to the district in order to participate.

In the course of coordinating the Fine Arts program, Force recognized that students were interested in learning piano, so she conducted a trial version of the Piano Exploration Camp with 10 students. After much positive feedback, she applied for an MEC Strengthening Schools Grant, allowing her to purchase 10 new keyboards and fully integrate the camp into the Fine Arts program.

With Force at the helm and no signs of slowing down, Adrian’s Fine Arts program continues to grow and draw students to the district. It’s a perfect example of why we believe in the Strengthening Schools Program— by helping students gain access to tools and resources they might not otherwise have, their education can be that much more impactful.

You have until Oct. 13 to apply for a Strengthening Schools Grant!

Teachers, administrators, and school officials at public elementary, middle, or high schools serving students in our electric service territories are eligible.

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