Steven Van Zandt and TeachRock will be joined by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Eddie Vedder, Margo Price and Tom Morello at the “Stand With Teachers” virtual holiday fundraising event streaming on Mon., Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.. The hour-long evening of music and conversation will also include special appearances by Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Whoopi Goldberg, Sammy Hagar, Melle Mel, Edward Norton, Vincent Pastore, Maureen Van Zandt along with Trønd Fausa Aurvåg and Steinar Sagen of Lilyhammer. Stand With Teachers is produced by Steven Van Zandt and TeachRock.org, the education component of his Rock and Roll Forever Foundation.
A Holiday Video Jukebox, featuring Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Darlene Love, reggae legend Dean Frasier, The Dollyrots, Cocktail Slippers, Soraia, and others, will follow the main event.
Ticket prices range from $25.00-$150.00 and are now available to purchase by visiting teachrock.org/standwithteachers. Ticket purchases are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Ticket holders will also be available to stream the event on-demand for three days following the December 21 premiere.
“Being an educator has never been easy, but 2020 posed greater challenges than any schools have ever faced. And, as usual, teachers rose to the occasion,” said TeachRock founder Steven Van Zandt. “When schools shut down overnight, teachers rallied and moved classes online. But that’s not all–like the essential workers they are, teachers continue to risk their health to serve students and families, be it to distribute tech to keep students connected, or meals to help families in need. Teachers are the plainclothes superheroes in our midst. They deserve to be heard and celebrated, and that’s why we’re going to Stand With Teachers on December 21st.”
#StandWithTeachers is a call-to-action to support TeachRock’s direct work with teachers, and encourage people to support teachers and students in their local communities. The virtual fundraising event on December 21 will honor educators and for their ongoing dedication to children throughout 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the program will aim to expand online arts integration support to teachers and students forced to cope with remote learning.
“The TeachRock family is excited to join with several of the most passionate figures in music and entertainment to Stand With Teachers on December 21,” said Bill Carbone, Executive Director of the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. “We will celebrate with a fun and uplifting evening of music and conversation, all to honor the teachers who continue to go above and beyond to meet the basic educational and human needs of America’s students during these unprecedented times.”
Anyone can join this movement to show support for teachers. TeachRock encourages everyone to record a short video clip stating, “I am (your name) and I stand with teachers because…”and to share it on social media and tag TeachRock and #StandWithTeachers and Teachrock will repost it alongside the celebrity videos as well.
Launched by Steven Van Zandt and the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese and Bruce Springsteen, the 501©3 Rock and Roll Forever Foundation has provided free, standards-aligned resources through the teachrock.org curriculum to help teachers and students succeed for more than a decade.
In some places, over 50% of students dropout of high school. Of those dropouts, 60% will spend time in jail. Nearly 68% of all men in federal prison never earned a high school diploma. But research shows that positive engagement with one teacher or in one class is often enough to keep a student in school. TeachRock integrates the history, culture and science of music into every subject. Helping teachers be that teacher, and that teacher’s class be that class.
During Covid school shutdowns, nearly 400 percent more teachers accessed TeachRock’s open-source, online curriculum. TeachRock currently reaches 23,000 schools in nearly 7,000 districts representing all 50 states. TeachRock has users in 121 countries. All of the K-12 resources at TeachRock.org are available to teachers, students, and families at no cost.