Dear Shawn:

 

I conduct two such after-school choirs in Portland, Oregon.  One is actually before school (Thursday mornings 8-8:35) and the other afterschool (Mondays 3:15-4:15).  Most of the schools in the Portland area participate in an "afterschool" program called "Sun" which features many different arts and sports related classes for kids after-school.  I've found that this is the best way to coordinate these programs -- i.e. with the individual schools and their program coordinator. It's way too hard to do this without the contact with the school - and there are many legal issues involved. You would want to indentify good choral directors that would be willing to do this (unfortunately, it's not much money, but perhaps your organization could jointly sponsor this with a school) - the directors would also need some money to buy music, because in these situations the director will need to provide all the music for the kids. It also helps if the director can teach from the piano - or else you need an accompanist, which adds costs. Keep in mind that anyone who works directly in the schools will need a background check, and in most cases go through a finger-printing process that also costs money.

A final note:  This type of program works best in schools that don't get a lot of vocal music - if the school has a strong choir - they don't really need this program -- it is schools with either no music program, or a program that primarily focuses on instruments where this type of activity is good.  Above all else, you want to support the music program that is in your school if there is one - and not look like you are competing with it. Good luck on this -- it can be quite rewarding.