
For
eight
Fridays,
from
October
to
December,
a
special
group
of
Kilby
Elementary
School
fifth
graders
took
time
out
of
their
day
to
grow
in
leadership,
relationship
skills,
and
self-awareness
by
taking
rhythm
training
on
the
Djembe
drum.
It
all
started
when
Vicky
Castro,
school
social
worker
for
Kilby
and
Jenkins
Elementary
Schools,
heard
about
the
training
sessions
being
offered
at
T.
Clay
Woods
Elementary
School
to
learn
how
to
lead
a
DRUMBEAT
music
program.
DRUMBEAT
is
an
evidence-based
social,
emotional,
and
leadership-skills-learning
program
that
uses
a
combination
of
five
core
elements
to
build
healthy
social
interactions
and
emotional
learning,
social
connection,
and
development
of
supportive
relationships
to
empower
individuals.
Castro,
who
took
the
training
at
T.
Clay
Woods,
says
she
loves
drumming
and
took
a
few
private
lessons
on
the
Djembe
drum
before
starting
her
first
group
at
Kilby
this
school
year.
She
and
Marissa
Payne,
professional
school
counselor
at
Kilby,
met
once
a
week
for
45-minutes
with
seven
fifth-grade
students,
introducing
the
three
basic
drum
strikes:
bass,
tone,
and
slap.
These
are
the
guidelines
the
group
developed:
be
kind,
be
respectful
to
others,
have
a
good
attitude
and
gratitude,
be
safe,
and
treat
others
as
you
want
to
be
treated.
"The
students
immediately
began
to
see
their
leadership
potential
and
use
positive
language,"
said
Castro.
"The
guidelines
are
not
the
typical
rules
students
come
up
with
when
they
are
asked
to
develop
rules
for
a
class
or
group.
The
positive
message
of
DRUMBEAT
sets
the
student
up
for
thinking
positively
about
themselves
and
sets
them
up
for
success."
Castro
said
she
could
clearly
see
the
students'
discovery
of
self-awareness
and
personal
growth
as
they
practiced
various
lessons
together
and
discussed
how
each
made
them
feel.
For
example,
identifying
and
overcoming
their
responses
to
stress,
such
as
when
one
drummer
attempts
to
keep
a
beat
while
his
peers
use
various
means
to
try
to
interrupt
his
rhythm.
T.
Clay
Wood's
Principal
Andrew
Buchheit,
who
brought
the
DRUMBEAT
program
to
PWCS
in
2018-19,
said
his
school
has
used
it
with
a
number
of
different
groups
the
last
two
years
and
has
seen
students
grow
socially
and
learn
to
make
better
choices.
As
a
final
performance,
the
drummers
have
asked
to
perform
for
a
kindergarten
class
so
that
they
can
show
the
younger
students
what
they
have
learned.