When he was ten years old, Gevon Goddard started playing the cello with Play On, Philly, an intense music program offered at his Philadelphia middle school. Soon, he was practicing and playing cello more than ten hours each week.

The more he practiced, Goddard said, the easier school seemed to get. He was able to read and analyze reading passages faster and better, for example, and he understood more of the words inside the text. “My music lessons made me a stronger student,” said Goddard, now a junior at Temple University. “I’d use my music skills to analyze a passage, and get the highest grade in the class.” His rigorous musical training helped Goddard “hone in” on academic areas he struggled with and “get them fixed.” An average student in middle school, he became a high-achieving high schooler, consistently earning As in his classes.

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