Settlement Music School Launches Nationwide Online Platform Bringing Arts-Integrated Teaching Tools to Early Childhood Educators

PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 2026) -- As educators across the country prepare for the new school year, there is a new, research-backed, and affordable online resource. This summer, Settlement Music School announced the nationwide launch of KWEST (Kaleidoscope Wants Everyone Succeeding Together), a digital platform that brings arts-integrated early childhood learning tools to educators, families, caregivers, and community organizations nationwide to expand and equalize access to high-quality school readiness tools.

KWEST was developed from Settlement Music School's celebrated Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program, based in Philadelphia. The program has more than three decades of success in integrating music, creative movement, and visual arts, primarily for Head Start students, with remarkable academic and social-emotional outcomes.

For two decades, the Kaleidoscope team has trained preschool educators across Pennsylvania in arts integration techniques through both personalized training and professional development conferences. We know that educators do not need a degree in art, music, or dance to effectively use the arts to teach concepts.

In a national early learning environment filled with challenges such as teacher burnout, diverse learners, behavioral issues, and more, and with 1/3 of American children not ready for kindergarten (National Survey for Children’s Health), the KWEST platform enables educators to use the arts to teach school readiness. It affordably expands training and provides high-quality resources, erasing barriers of time and location to provide flexible, practical support and inspiration for educators of young children.

The Kaleidoscope program has 15+ years of research to back up its positive impacts on young children. The Early Childhood Cognition and Emotions Lab at West Chester University, has published four academic studies on the success of this program. When compared with students in similar classrooms who do not utilize intensive arts integration, children participating in an arts-integrated environment demonstrate three times the growth in vocabulary, a 60% increase in personal happiness and pride, a significant reduction in stress levels, gains in emotional regulation, and better overall school readiness.

“The KWEST platform is unique among early childhood education options,” says Nate Bronstein, ed tech entrepreneur, founder of SmartTrack, LLC and a Vice President of the Settlement Music School Board of Trustees. “In our survey of products in the field, there is no other resource that brings in the proven tools of arts integration, serves all kinds of educators, is affordable and has been built with the input of so many to equalize access to the widest variety of educators. It is truly a standout product that has great potential in the market.”

KWEST also stands out from other resources because it is customizable and searchable; aligns with Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards; adapts to home or school environments; supports diverse learners; and can be used to complement existing curricula or as a standalone. The resource provides educators with practical tools they can implement immediately, regardless of their experience with art, music, or dance, to help kids be ready for school and life.

"The arts ignite pathways in the brain and help keep them active," said Tarrell Davis, Executive Director of Early Childhood Programming at Settlement Music School and founder of the KWEST initiative. "They have the power to lay the foundation for literacy, scientific thinking, and math, and can ultimately help create the future engineers, coders, teachers, and doctors that our communities need. Having KWEST out in the world makes me elated! Educators are already using the arts - but using them through KWEST teaches a variety of learners one concept. This is key, because KWEST opens opportunities for every child to participate, creating a more harmonious classroom. It is the best avenue to diversify education for any learner. Everyone can find something in KWEST to benefit themselves and their students.”

With the new school year right around the corner, KWEST is an invaluable, ready-to-use resource, adoptable for any educator. For educational environments lucky enough to already have arts programming in place, KWEST can be a valued add-on, increasing success and encouraging everyone to join in the joyous journey of learning through the arts

Beyond classroom teachers and childcare providers, the tools serve family childcare homes, community organizations, homeschoolers, and parents and family members who seek meaningful ways to support the learning of children in their care.

Interested educators can learn more through the free demo on the website at www.kwestlearning.org. For a guided demonstration, educators can sign up for the free online KWEST training on Aug. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon EST HERE.

"Every KWEST activity reinforces existing learning goals, patterns, vocabulary, language comprehension, self-regulation, fine motor skills, collaboration through music, movement, visual art, and storytelling," said Denver Public Schools Teacher and KWEST Content Consultant, Michelle Anthony, MA, PhD. "And every activity, every lesson and every unit is designed so even the most self-conscious educator can lead it without feeling like they're performing."

Educators who have used KWEST are already seeing the exceptional benefits:

"KWEST is a gamechanger for early childhood educators, offering hands-on, interactive lessons that spark creativity, foster collaboration, and make abstract concepts come alive. It's the perfect blend of music, movement, and storytelling to keep students engaged and learning with joy.” - Savannah Pope, Classroom Teacher

"As both an educator and a mom, I really enjoyed using KWEST. It provided a way to bring content alive both in the classroom and at home through the arts!” -Desiree’ Caldwell, Life Skills Teacher and Parent

"We've seen great results using KWEST. It was particularly beneficial for our nonverbal students, highlighting the importance of music and movement in their learning. This experience has motivated us to continue using KWEST and increase music-based activities in our content.” - Keshia English, Classroom Teacher

KWESTlearning.org expands access to arts integration so that any child, anywhere, can benefit. The result is a flexible, easy-to-use online platform built with input from teachers, parents, and other educators. KWEST weaves school-readiness skills into engaging activities in music, art, and movement — so kids stay curious, creative, and excited to learn.

KWEST development received seed funding from the Marrazzo Family Foundation, Vanguard Group Foundation, Caroline Alexander Buck Foundation, and multiple individual donors who believe in the power of arts integration to increase school readiness in early learners.

About Settlement Music School

Founded in 1908, Settlement Music School is one of the largest community schools of the arts in the country. The School is an inclusive creative community, dedicated to providing the highest quality arts education for all. Regardless of age, background, ability, or economic circumstances, there is a place for all at Settlement. The School offers more than 11,000 lessons, classes, community partnerships, and creative arts therapy services each week at its multiple branches and partnership sites throughout the Philadelphia region and is proud to provide $3 million in financial aid to more than 60% of its student population, including children as young as 6 months and lifelong learners at every stage. Settlement students have gone on to prestigious careers in music, dance, education, politics, science, becoming Nobel Laureates, MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize winners, Fulbright scholars, published authors, and Grammy Award winners.