Merit School of Music

Merit School of Music is dedicated to helping young people transform their lives by removing barriers to high-quality music education, with more than 80% of students participating at a reduced or no cost. Merit enables motivated students, regardless of economic circumstance, to develop their talent and to use music as a springboard for achieving their full personal potential.

Merit School of Music is Chicago’s destination for excellence and belonging in music education.

Goal One: First & foremost, we must rebuild our enrollment to pre-COVID levels. Our goal is to reach 100% pre-pandemic levels by FY23 through a focus on brand awareness, community engagement, & more.

Goal Two: We’re committed to becoming a more inclusive, multi-cultural institution that represents the demographics of Chicago & delivers on its mission to remove barriers to excellent music instruction.

Goal Three: Merit is committed to deepening parent engagement in order to help drive increased commitment at our community partner sites & support retention in programs overall.

Merit is dedicated to promoting leadership development, with a particular focus on ensuring that entry level employees have the opportunities to grow & learn in their roles. Most recently, we engaged all staff in evaluating their strengths through the CliftonStrengths Assessment. This tool empowers individuals to be their best by understanding their innate talents & unlocking their full potential. Staff had the opportunity to engage in rigorous discussions collectively & one-on-one with their supervisors post assessment to make plans for growth & exploration of their leadership skills based on the assessment. Further, as a part of our inclusivity, diversity, equity & antiracism (IDEA) efforts, Merit has provided all staff the opportunity to participate in Enrich Chicago/CROAR’s intensive 2.5-day seminar, Understanding & Analyzing Systemic Racism. Our Director of IDEA & Human Resources provides leadership on these issues across training, policy, & professional development.

While COVID represents the single greatest challenge of Merit’s 42-year history, it has also spurred ideas & innovations never before imagined. Highlights of COVID’s impact & Merit’s response include: + Virtual instruction: Merit revamped its curriculum to better meet the needs & capabilities of students in a virtual world. Additional learning opportunities included composition, music history, sound engineering, & in-depth audition techniques. + Live From Gottlieb: Merit reimagined this weekly live event as a series of virtual gatherings of our musical community, streaming recorded appearances by local & national artists. + Financial aid: Merit offered substantial additional aid under the rubric of a “COVID discount” to accommodate the increased need for aid among Merit families financially hurt by the impact of COVID. + Student retention: Merit is proud to have retained 90% of private lesson students, 80% of group lesson students, & 75% of our community partners. However, recruitment has been particularly affected by the pandemic with repercussions not only in the current year, but with uncertain medium-term impact, as there are now fewer students on the pathway. Thus, recruitment is a significant focus for fall 2021. + Although income from tuition revenue, school contracts, & space rental was significantly reduced, Merit has maintained a small surplus; this is due to PPP loans & strong fundraising. + Merit’s virtual Gala exceeded its fundraising target with over $1.1 million raised. + Merit’s board grew in diversity, with trustees of color now comprising 36%. + Merit maintained nearly all staff on payroll since March 2020; only two building staff were furloughed whose roles were defined by direct visitor contact.