Cy Woods GEM Grant Project

CFISD band students join Waller and Spring Branch ISD students to form the All-Region band for a special series of concerts.

Cy Woods HS is home to one of the five winning teams of the 2014 GEM grants. Their application presented a plan to give additional students an opportunity during All-Region band auditions by providing tutoring during the summer. The team responsible for this project was made up of Cy Woods teachers Kevin Wood, Cinjin Casillas and Michael Vasquez. Woods acted as team leader.

The weeklong band camp took place during August 2014. The grant money enabled the team to hire professional musicians to work with Cy Woods band students on instrument-specific music fundamentals. The students also practiced the music that would be used at All-Region auditions. These two-hour sessions allowed the ninth- through twelfth-grade students to develop a more consistent and unified approach to playing their instruments. 

The positive impact of the GEM grant project was evident in November when six Cy Woods students earned membership into the UIL Region 27 All-Region Orchestra—a 50% increase from 2013.

The guidelines for application submissions for the 2015 GEM Grants can be found online.