THE DICK & JANE PROJECT: EXPANDING THE CLASSROOM

by The Dick & Jane Project



Check out the extended video by visiting this URL here: http://youtu.be/ANu-fOf0rZk

What is The Dick & Jane Project?

The Dick & Jane Project is a non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio. We host workshops where middle school students are partnered with professional musicians to create radio-ready songs. The students write the lyrics, the musicians compose and record the music, and together they collaborate with student designers and journalists on the production of a professionally recorded song.  

Our programming inspires middle school students to embrace their creativity by expressing themselves through song lyrics. These students are offered an opportunity to hone their skills in a real world application, gaining confidence in themselves as expressive writers regardless of their writing abilities.  

What is The Dick & Jane Project fundraising for?

Donations will allow us to partner schools and students from diverse backgrounds to create the lyrics, musical direction, visual art, and journalistic coverage of a professionally recorded song.

How will it work?

Student lyricists will work side-by-side with local musicians for one week, and by assisting with the writing process and musical direction, the musicians work with the students to create a song that they will professionally record.

Student journalists will engage in collaborative discussion with the lyricists and musicians, ultimately creating the narrative of the song’s development from conception to production.

Student designers will create a visual representation of the song to be published in the CD insert and on our website.

What happens with the songs, design, and journalism when they are complete?

The songs, supporting art, and journalism will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, thedickandjaneproject.org, and any other online platform that hosts music. Additionally, we will create a CD and host a release party for the participating schools, communities, and supporters to come together and celebrate the students’ work. The songs and CDs will be sold to facilitate more songwriting workshops in the fall of 2013, and all of the songs will be featured every Friday at 11:55am on WCBE 90.5’s “The Dick & Jane Song of the Week.”

What are the Common Core Standards and why are they important?

The Common Core Standards are the next generation of K-12 educational standards, which are gradually being implemented through 2015. School administrators and teachers are facing many challenges during the transition to The Common Core. Most teachers are finding the standards to be more rigorous than previous academic standards and are struggling to align them with their curriculum and assessment.

We view this shift in educational policy as an opportunity to establish The Dick & Jane Project as a cornerstone in a new era of education. It seems surprising at first that writing songs with rock stars could be a part of the school day, but the philosophies within the Common Core standards suggest otherwise.

The Common Core Standards focus on achievements instead of processes, leaving room for teachers and curriculum developers to determine how those goals should be reached. The Standards, for example, do not mandate a particular writing process nor a particular metacognitive strategy for students to direct their thinking. Teachers are free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment identifies as most helpful for meeting the Standards’ goals.

We firmly believe that the work that The Dick & Jane Project facilitates is just as much of a tool for reaching the Common Core Standards as are any other lessons that teachers use. If fact, our Workshop Guide for educators and administrators includes over 50 pages detailing how Common Core Standards are achieved during our workshops.


What is the ultimate vision?

We envision young writers all over the world feeling empowered by The Dick & Jane Project’s programming, whether they’re participating in a Dick & Jane workshop or listening to a radio station that plays The Dick & Jane Project’s songs.

We envision a school’s curriculum including The Dick and Jane Project, and we see our programming encouraging young people to embrace the writing process and move forward in their lives as confident writers.

Reward Descriptions:

Digital Download of songs created in the workshop


Dick & Jane Songs make you feel good. Donate 10 dollars and you will receive a digital download of every song created in the spring workshops.

Ticket to release concert (+ all rewards below)


We are going to have a big party during the summer to celebrate the release of the songs created during the spring, and with a 25 dollar donation you can reserve your ticket and meet the musicians and students behind the music.

The Dick & Jane Project Poster and T-shirt (+ all rewards below)


There is no better way to show your support for The Dick & Jane Project than wearing our official T-Shirt and hanging our official poster in your room or in your office.

Digital Download of all songs created in 2013 (+ all rewards below)


We are not going to stop making songs in the spring. Donate $100 and we’ll send you every song we make in 2013.

4 CD Compilation of 2012 songs (+ all rewards below)


We produced 26 songs in 2012 on a total of 4 CDs. We’ll send you physical copies of all four, complete with inserts of student-made artwork and journalism.

Limited edition autographed copy of our 1st CD (+ all rewards below)


Our First CD, titled “Orientation”, is a compilation of the best 4 songs created during our inaugural year in 2011. With a donation of $500, you can have a copy autographed by each student lyricist.

Read access to one song creation on DJP Labs (+ all rewards below)


Imagine coming home from work every day and checking in to see how the song you helped fund is developing through DJP Labs, our state of the art online tool for collaboration between students, musicians, and teachers. With a donation of $1,000, you can witness the creative process that The Dick & Jane Project makes possible.

Recognition as Executive Producer of a song (+ all rewards below)


You’ve funded a song.  With a donation of $1,500 you will be credited as the Executive Producer on thedickandjaneproject.org and all release materials for that song.