We arrive with everything.
Trained and certified facilitators. Every drum. Every rhythm tool. A program built on the evidence-based Beat the Odds® curriculum. We set up, we deliver, we tear down.
We change young lives.
Your school provides nothing but the students and a space. Programs run 4, 6, or 8 weeks: one visit per week, up to three consecutive 40-minute sessions, up to 20 students per session, during the school day, after school, or in the summer.
The funding is within reach.
For most schools, DrumBus is paid for with funding you already receive. No new budget line. No special request.
ELO-P is how most of our partner schools bring DrumBus to campus. California’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program funds enrichment beyond the school day for TK–6 students, and DrumBus fits it naturally: a hands-on program, fully facilitated, and delivered with nothing added to your staffing or logistics.
DrumBus also aligns with Prop 28 arts and music funding, Title IV-A student support and enrichment, and Title II-A professional development for your staff.
DrumBus® moves beyond music.
Through rhythm, students grow in focus, confidence, and self-expression. We provide expanded learning for whole-child development, through SEL, language arts, movement, and yes, music.
Every drum circle session is anchored in Beat the Odds®, an evidence-based, trauma-informed curriculum developed by the Arts & Healing Initiative, an organizational member of the UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine.
The results reach beyond the music: stronger collaboration, listening, and leadership. And UCLA researchers have shown Beat the Odds® can significantly reduce behavior problems, such as those related to inattention, depression, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety.
Proven across an entire district.
In partnership with the Oxnard School District in Ventura County, California, DrumBus delivered a three-year group drumming program: 13,500 students across 22 schools, during the school day and after school.
The results, per Oxnard School District reporting:
93
%
of teachers stated that students built positive connections and strengthened listening, collaboration, and leadership skills.
The DrumBus team was professional, engaging, and deeply committed to kids, and they created an ideal classroom environment that brought rhythm, energy, and meaningful learning right onto our campuses.
Chris Ridge, Director of Pupil Services, Oxnard School District
Learn More About Oxnard
Every child belongs in the circle.
No experience required. No skill barrier. In a drum circle, every student has a seat, a drum, and a part to play, and the circle welcomes every age, culture, and ability.
Before the drumming, I was having a bad day and now I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to!
DrumBus Fifth Grade Student
Rhythm recharges educators, too.
DrumBus professional development workshops give your staff a hands-on session of group drumming, movement, and play, building teamwork and trust, easing stress, and sending everyone back to the classroom with rhythm activities ready to use. No musical experience needed. Just arrive ready to have fun.
Seventeen years in the circle.
DrumBus has been serving Pre-K–12 students since 2009.
350,000
+
students served
1000
s
of programs delivered
100
s
of school partners
In good company, with full hearts.
To the schools, districts, and community partners who share the DrumBus circle: thank you. Your belief in rhythm is changing young lives.
Oxnard School District · Glendale Mountain-View Community Learning Center · Ventura County Office of Education · SAY San Diego · Harmonium San Diego · San Diego School District · Glendale U.S.D. · Santa Rosa School District · Lincoln U.S.D. · Moreno Valley · Temecula · Granite School District · Jordan School District · Davis County School District · Salt Lake City School District · Murray School District
