At a Queens school, migrant kids gain melodies, and respite from trauma

A cardboard cutout of the Supremes stands inside the lobby of I.S. 235 — the Academy for New Americans — in Astoria, Queens. The walls are adorned with inspirational quotes from Rosa Parks, President Barack Obama and Harriet Tubman. A sign outside the guidance counselor’s office reads, “Always remember to ask… how is this good for children?”

From the auditorium a few feet away comes a torrent of noise: scores of middle schoolers, letting loose from their seats before being hushed by a school official. And then from the stage, the quiet plonking of guitar strings, and the tentative but unmistakable melody of a classic Mexican folk composition: “Cielito Lindo,” or as millions of Americans may know it, the “Ay ay ay ay” song.

“Canta y no llores. Porque cantando se allegra,” the lyrics go on to say. In English, they translate to “sing and don’t cry, because singing brings joy.”

The performers at this end-of-year concert are students, mostly migrant youth from Venezuela, along with other newcomers to the country who have for months been enrolled in Music Partners, program operated by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

The program, which includes guitar and percussion instruction at I.S. 235, brings musical education and therapy to 4,500 public school students across the city. And in an academic year in which tens of thousands of migrant kids entered the New York City public school system, including 160 students at I.S. 235, it is one place where the newcomers have quietly embedded themselves in their adopted communities, forging new friendships with the help of teachers, administrators and creative initiatives.

For some, the instruction has also been a respite from the trauma and uncertainty that many of the newcomers know so well. The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s Executive Director Chad Cooper, who was on…