School of Rock (company)

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of School of Rock (company) and everything that this concept can encompass. From its origins to its impact on today's society, School of Rock (company) has been the subject of debate, study and reflection throughout history. Throughout the pages of this article, we will delve into the many facets of School of Rock (company), analyzing its relevance in different contexts and its influence on our lives. With a critical and reflective eye, we will examine the role that School of Rock (company) plays in our modern society and how it has evolved over time. Get ready to embark on a fascinating journey through School of Rock (company) and discover everything this concept has to offer.

For the 2003 Jack Black film, see School of Rock. For the documentary, see Rock School. Not to be confused with Rockschool or Rock School. For other uses, see School of Rock (disambiguation).

School of Rock
Company typeFranchisor
IndustryMusic education
Founded1998 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
HeadquartersCanton, Massachusetts
Number of locations
385 schools in the US
91 International
16 Countries
Key people
Stacey Ryan - President
ProductsPerformance Program, Rock 101, Rookies, Little Wing, Houseband, All Stars Program, Adult Program, guitar lessons, bass lessons, vocal lessons, keyboard lessons
Servicesmusic lessons, guitar lessons, bass guitar lessons, drum lessons, keyboard lessons, vocal lessons
Websiteschoolofrock.com

School of Rock is a music education program. This for-profit educational company operates and franchises after-school music instruction schools in the United States, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, Paraguay, Taiwan, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the Philippines. School of Rock currently has more than 385 open locations in sixteen countries serving more than 60,000 students.[1]

Though they offer a pre-school introduction to music for children age two through six, the majority of their students are in a performance-based program where students are accepted at any skill level, with the goal of getting them on stage, playing a concert before a paying audience. The most skilled students in each school form a band and play concerts in their city, and the top students from each school compete to become a member of an "AllStar" band and tour regionally. They have recently expanded to offer career development for working bands, and adult programs for adult amateur musicians. Successful musicians occasionally serve as "Guest Professors" and perform with the students. Some School of Rock graduates have gone on to appear on shows like "American Idol" and "The Voice."[2]

History

Paul Green began giving traditional individual music lessons in his home in 1996.[3] He invited a group of his students to sit in, or "jam", with his own band with disappointing results. But by the third week, he found that the students who played in a group had advanced much more than the students who received only traditional solo instruction. He modified his teaching method to supplement traditional instruction with group practice, with the goal of putting on a concert. He compared it to the difference between "...shooting hoops and playing basketball". In 1999, the most advanced students played their first public concert at an art gallery.

He took out a loan for $7000 in 2002[4] and established a permanent location for the first Paul Green School of Rock Music in a dilapidated building at 1320 Race Street, Philadelphia that has since been demolished.[5] The location had a number of small rooms for individual instrumental instruction as well as larger performance spaces for full band practices. Spin magazine sent The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha to profile Green and the school for the May 2002 issue.[3] Green chose to name the school after himself to avoid confusion with the Herbie Hancock television program and to use his measure of local fame, but always referred to the program as "Rock School" and answered the phone using the phrase.[6] Additionally, Green established the domain SchoolofRock.com in 2001,[6] first archived 24 May 2002.[7]

In 2002, a crew from the Viacom television channel VH1 filmed for four days at the Philadelphia location for a proposed reality television series. After the shoot, the producers stopped returning Green's phone calls.[4] In January 2003, filmmakers Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce attended a concert by the students, and decided to make a documentary about the school five minutes after the concert started.[8] They met with Green the next day and began shooting video one day later, intending to follow an entire school year.[9] Midway through the nine months of shooting what became Rock School, they learned that the Viacom movie studio Paramount would be releasing a fictional film to be called School of Rock featuring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a would-be rock star teaching children to play rock music. Many critics claimed[10] that Black's characterization was based on Green's man-child persona[11][12] though screenwriter Mike White claimed that he had "...never heard of Paul Green before".[13] Green preferred the documentary, saying that while School of Rock "was actually, businesswise, way better for us because people actually saw that movie," the documentary "opened a lot of other doors, corporate partnerships, and us access to the rock stars that we play with. It was like Jack Black was the nationwide commercial for us and our movie was the industry cred."[14] He considered a lawsuit, but decided against it, reasoning that the School benefited from the film saying "I considered suing, but what are you going to do? It's better, in a karmic sense, to just reap the rewards."[15]

School of Rock magazine

Green was bought out in 2009 by investor Sterling Partners and the management team he had brought in,[16] headed by former Clear Channel executive Matt Ross.[17] Ross remained CEO until 2010, managing the company's expansion and private equity acquisition,[18] when he was replaced as CEO by former McDonald's Ventures executive Chris Catalano,[19] who had previously led the expansion of their Chipotle and Redbox businesses.[20] The name was shortened to School of Rock and Paul Green exited the organization.

In June 2014, Catalano was replaced with Dzana Homan, who had been Chief Operating Officer of the Goddard School child care centers, and had previous experience as CEO of Huntington Learning Centers and Futurekids.[21]

In April 2006, Guitar Player magazine publisher MPN announced a quarterly School of Rock magazine intended to focus on classic rock and musical tips for readers age twelve to eighteen.[22] It lasted less than a year, closing during a contraction of the publishing industry.[23]

Green's non-compete agreement expired in 2013, and he announced plans to open a Paul Green Rock Academy in Woodstock, New York to serve ages 8 to 18, as well as a Woodstock College of Music in Ulster County with Woodstock Music Festival promoter Michael Lang.[24]

In 2017, Rob Price joined the company as CEO.[25] Prior to School of Rock, he was the president of Edible Arrangements.[26] In 2023, Price received the New England Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[27]

At the 2021 and 2022 Global Franchise Awards, School of Rock was named the Best Children's Service and Education Franchise.[28] A year later, School of Rock was named Grand Champion at the 2023 Global Franchise Awards, the most prestigious award at the ceremony.[29] In 2024, Entrepreneur Magazine named School of Rock the 12th best children's franchise.[30]

At the 2023 She Rock Awards, Stacey Ryan, then COO of School of Rock, was the Champion Award honoree. An all-girl School of Rock band performed at the ceremony after Ryan accepted her award. [31] In 2024, Youth Enrichment Brands acquired School of Rock,[32] and Stacey Ryan became president of School of Rock. [33]

In 2021, School of Rock opened their first European location in Madrid. This opening marked the beginning of School of Rock's expansion into Spain, Brazil, and Portugal.[34] In 2024, School of Rock announced their UK expansion, led by franchisor Matias Puga-Hamilton who steered School of Rock's growth in Latin America.[35] In 2025, School of Rock announced their expansion into Germany.[36] Also, in 2025, School of Rock announced the opening of their 400th location.[37]

Franchising

A review by Entrepreneur magazine ranked School of Rock #118 of their 2025 Top 500 Franchise Opportunities, up from #211 in 2013.[38] Additionally, the CNN Money website featured School of Rock as one of their Five Hot Franchises on 12 February 2013.[39][40]

The company has grown to more than 385 locations worldwide.[41]

On average, purchasing a franchise requires an initial investment of $425,250 to $704,800.[42] This estimate includes a renewable ten-year franchise fee of $59,900. The franchisee also pays an 8% annual royalty fee and is required to have a net worth of $350,000, and $150,000 cash available.[43] The majority of the employees are music teachers who are also working musicians.

The franchisee receives training in running the business, IT support (including a website), assistance with real estate selection and designing the franchise location, grand opening and on-going marketing support, discounts on music equipment and a protected territory.[44] The IT support includes access to a customized task management and internal social productivity site.[45]

Curriculum

The former location of the Chicago branch
of School of Rock

The schools operate year-round, offering a variety of programs. Throughout the year, they offer lessons and performance groups, which can be on either weekdays or weekends. During summer, winter and spring breaks, they offer various day camps for intensive instruction.

The Burnsville, Minnesota, location originated[46] an early childhood music education known as "Little Wing", after the Jimi Hendrix song.[47] [48]

At age seven, students can begin weekly lessons in the instrument of their choice in "Rock 101" classes. After "Rock 101", students can move to the "Performance Program" where they have a weekly one-on-one private lesson and three hours weekly of group band rehearsal that culminates in a concert before an audience.[49]

In 2021, School of Rock was awarded U.S. Patent for its revolutionary School Of Rock Method.[50]

The most skilled students at each school form a band and perform at various venues in their city, opening for established regional and national acts. Less than 1% of the total School of Rock population gets selected to the AllStars program.[51] Many schools have songwriting and recording programs as well. School of Rock launched their songwriting program in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which worked well with the remote learning format.[52]

Most school instructors are working musicians with ongoing careers in rock music[53][54] and a number are graduates of the program. Instructors are encouraged to stress the fundamentals of both popular music and music theory, using songs from popular bands and artists like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, and music from genres such as 1980s glam metal, punk rock and grunge. The teachers often specialize in a single instrument, though many have skills in additional instruments and students are encouraged to learn multiple instruments. Instruction is available in electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards and vocals.[55]

The students are paired with others of similar abilities to form bands and assigned a band coach. Dependence upon their peers is credited with being more effective than their own parents at ensuring practice discipline.[54][56]

There are occasional "Guest Professor" workshops featuring professional musicians, which include discussions about past experiences, songwriting, live performances, and handling fame. Previous guest professors include Jon Anderson, Earl Slick, Dave Stewart, Mike Watt, former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve[57][58] Peter Frampton, Roger Waters, Jackson Browne and Zack Wylde.[59] The guest may also spend time assisting the students on their technique[60] and may perform a concert with the students.[61]

Various locations[62] have launched an adult program for those older than 18 who wish to participate in a performance based music education program. Five weeks of 45-minute private lessons are followed by 10 weeks of professionally guided two-hour rehearsals leading up to a pair of full length concerts.[63]

Locations take advantage of local music opportunities. In 2014, School of Rock Chicago cooperated with The Second City to produce a production of Tommy by The Who.[64] The Portland location has an annual concert of music by Portland bands called Best! of Portland.[65]

Fees vary depending on program participation and school location, but it is in the range of "a couple hundred dollars a month."[66] The School has partnered with MySafeSchool[67] to ensure the safety of their students.

In August 2010, Wendy Winks and Carl Restivo, the former heads of the Hollywood branch, formed The Rock School Scholarship Fund, a tax-deductible 501(c)3 charitable organization[68] to provide instruments and tuition for deserving students of any rock music school in the United States.[69]

In 2021, School of Rock partnered with Gibson to create a limited-edition Les Paul Special electric guitar. Only 100 of the guitars were made and sold exclusively to School of Rock students.[70]

Performances

The students have "the ultimate goal of performing live in front of real crowds"[71] and the official motto of the school is "To inspire the world to rock…on stage and in life".[72] The founder of the school stated in the documentary about the school "Don't come to watch kids play music. Come to watch kids play music well".[73]

The school year consists of up to three seasons, each composed of up to five different theme shows (depending on the size of the branch). Each show is dedicated to a particular artist, band, genre, time period or historical event. Although some shows are more technically demanding, students can sign up for any show no matter what the age or skill level (although approval by the show's director is occasionally required). Shows usually consist of 20 to 25 songs chosen by the show's director (usually one of the teachers at the school) to make a ninety-minute concert. Three-hour rehearsals are held every week in preparation. The shows are performed at local clubs twice, usually on Friday and Saturday nights, and sometimes Saturday night and Sunday afternoon; however, some of the schools have their own venue for performances. Tickets are sold to defray the rental cost of the venue, usually for $10.

Previously performed shows across all School of Rock locations include Metallica's Master of Puppets, Classic metal, Indie rock, The Black Keys vs. The White Stripes, Santana, Guns N' Roses vs. Mötley Crüe, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Reggae, Funk & Soul, Radiohead, Eagles vs. Fleetwood Mac, Rocky Horror vs. Hedwig, Best of the 80s/90s/00s, Punk rock, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who's Tommy, British Invasion, Old School Blues, Women Who Rock, The Doors, Grunge, Alice in Chains vs Pearl Jam, Rush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, Prince, Green Day, Talking Heads, and many more.

Some locations produce a Best of Season show that is a compilation of songs from previous shows, usually to raise tuition for a scholarship.[74] Locations are a mixture of franchised and company-operated, some having been established as independent entities prior to the founding of the Paul Green School of Rock Music and maintain their own traditions and values.[75]

On 28 June 2013, a multi-day competition was launched at Milwaukee's Summerfest music festival. Bands from 200 School of Rock locations traveled to compete in a Battle of Bands. In 2023, School of Rock students returned to compete at Summerfest after the Covid-19 pandemic.[76]

During the pandemic in 2020, School of Rock students performed "Three Little Birds" and recorded a compilation music video with Skip Marley.[77]

In 2022, School of Rock students performed at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal.[78]

AllStars

The School of Rock AllStars is a select group of students comprising less than 1 percent of the students in the program,[71] selected via an audition process where the student submits a five-minute video clip. The student answers four questions: "What is your favorite thing about School of Rock?", "What is your best School of Rock moment?", "How has music changed your life?", and "Why do you want to be an AllStar?". They must also include a performance of one Led Zeppelin, Beatles, or Rolling Stones song, and one solo song of their own choice. Originally, there was a single national AllStars team, but since expanding the number of schools, there are AllStar teams for seven different regions to keep tour length manageable.

Once chosen, the students practice together during the school holiday period.[79] They tour such venues as the Whisky a Go Go and The Roxy in Los Angeles, The Cutting Room in New York, Stubbs in Austin, various Hard Rock Cafes and House of Blues, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and many of the biggest festivals in the country such as Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and Austin City Limits.

The 2010 AllStars tour was billed as "Live-Aid Remade" with a set list drawn from the original Live Aid concert 25 years previously.[80]

They often tour and play with successful rock musicians, such as the Butthole Surfers, Slash, Les Paul, Brendon Small, LeAnn Rimes, Perry Farrell, Jon Anderson, Peter Frampton, Eddie Vedder, Alice Cooper, Adrian Belew, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Stewart Copeland, John Wetton, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Ike Willis and Ann Wilson.

Eric Svalgard, a teacher at Green's original School of Rock location and owner of the Wilmington, Delaware location, assembled a special "Z Team" from nine School of Rock locations to travel to Bad Doberon, Germany to play the 25th Zappanale, a festival of music by and associated with Frank Zappa. The Z Team both opened and closed the show.[81]

The AllStars program raises funds for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.[82]

References

  1. ^ "School of Rock Music Education Franchise | Start a Business That Rocks". School of Rock. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  2. ^ "For young shredders at School of Rock, it's finally time to melt faces again". Los Angeles Times. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b Iha, James (2002). "Schoolhouse Rock". Spin (May): 93–97. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b Davis, Johnny (22 February 2004). "The real school of rock". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 August 2008. For the first School of Rock show, Paul's students performed Pink Floyd's The Wall. From start to finish. Recently, they've been tackling the works of Frank Zappa, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Jimi Hendrix.
  5. ^ Stefchak, Cara (23 April 2012). "Music Issue: Learning how to rock". The Temple News. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012. Philadelphia was home to the first School of Rock established by musician Paul Green in 2000 at 1320 Race Street, which has since been condemned and demolished with the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
  6. ^ a b Morales, Wilson (May 2005). "Rock School: An Interview with Director Don Argott, Producer Sheena m. Joyce, Founder and director Paul Green, and student C.J Tywoniak". Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  7. ^ "May 24, 2002 archive of the domain schoolofrock.com". Archived from the original on 24 May 2002. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  8. ^ Moser, Juliet (3 February 2005). "Film Review: "Rock School"". The GW Hatchet. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. ^ Vice, Jeff (24 June 2005). "Green relieved documentary shows real 'School of Rock'". Deseret Morning News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2012 – via HighBeam Research. The School of Rock was spawned by a development deal with music television network VH-1, which initially pitched Green on a reality television show. But when that deal soured, the producers sold the concept to Paramount Pictures, leaving him out in the cold. (According to some reports, Green was not paid for either the scrapped television program or the movie.)
  10. ^ "Rock School review". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 July 2012. Though you won't find it acknowledged anywhere, Rock School's main subject Paul Green no doubt figured into White's research for his feature film script.
  11. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Rock School review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  12. ^ Douglas, Edward. "Movie Reviews: Rock School". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 7 April 2012. ...the real Paul Green is even funnier and more entertaining than Jack Black's fictionalized version of him in School of Rock.
  13. ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (3 November 2003). "November 03, 2003". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2012. I was shocked by how little the kids were learning. It was the difference between shooting hoops and playing basketball.
  14. ^ Gay, Gerald (10 August 2006). "School of Rock's elite performing here". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2013 – via HighBeam Research. The Jack Black movie was actually, businesswise, way better for us because people actually saw that movie," Green said. "Our movie has opened a lot of other doors, corporate partnerships, and given us access to the rock stars that we play with. It was like Jack Black was the nationwide commercial for us and our movie was the industry cred.
  15. ^ Davis, Johnny (22 February 2004). "The real school of rock". The Observer. 'I considered suing,' says Paul Green, 'but what are you going to do? It's better, in a karmic sense, to just reap the rewards.
  16. ^ Boast, Will (12 May 2014). "A School for Brooklyn's Youngest Hipsters". The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 May 2014. Green went on to expand his business rapidly, opening branches along the East Coast, in San Francisco and Austin, and elsewhere before selling the business to Sterling Partners, an investment firm, in 2009. "Paul had his quirks," Catalano told me. "He wouldn't have made great partners with a large equity group. It was the right thing for everyone involved."
  17. ^ "History of the School of Rock". School of Rock DC. Retrieved 2 August 2012. At the end of 2005, the School of Rock hired radio industry veteran Matt Ross to solidify the management team and fine-tune the strategic plan for the future.
  18. ^ "Matt Ross Linked in page". Linked In. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  19. ^ Boudreau, Mark. "Paul Green School of Rock Ramps Up National Expansion". Rock and Roll Report. Retrieved 2 August 2012. the original performance-based rock music school, has solidified its new management team and launched an aggressive national expansion that is on target to double the number of branches by the end of the year.
  20. ^ "School of Rock". Musical Merchandise Review. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013. A veteran of venture projects for years, Catalano has steered several high-profile brands to success on his own and in his former role with McDonald's Ventures. There, Catalano and his business partner, Mats Lederhausen, climbed to prominence making household names out of Chipotle and the on-location DVD rental system Red Box.
  21. ^ Yerak, Becky (7 July 2014). "School of Rock gets new CEO". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 July 2014. From 2008 to 2010, Homan was also CEO of Huntington Learning Center, and from 2001 to 2008 she was CEO of Futurekids Inc., a retail computer learning center at which she was also a franchisee.
  22. ^ Molenda, Michael (April 2006). "Noise from the Editor". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. I'm jazzed to announce that MPN – the music publishing group that brings you Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, EQ, and Frets – is partnering with Paul Green's School of Rock to produce School of Rock Magazine.
  23. ^ Molenda, Michael (July 2007). "Noise from the Editor". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013. In our own house, we've shut down Frets, and ceased publication of the youth-oriented Paul Green's School of Rock Magazine.
  24. ^ "School of Rock founder plans music academy for Woodstock". Poughkeepsie Journal. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013. Paul Green, a Woodstock resident, plans to open a school "very similar to the original School of Rock in Philadelphia," which he launched in 1997. Green ultimately opened 52 School of Rock locations across the nation and sold the company. His non-compete clause recently expired.
  25. ^ Pipes, Kerry. "Leader of the Bands: School of Rock CEO Finds the Perfect Home". www.franchising.com. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
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  32. ^ Michaels, Laura (25 April 2024). "School of Rock Buy Helps YEB Build 'Enduring Enterprise'". franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
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  35. ^ Stoffers, Carl (22 May 2024). "Music Education Brand School of Rock Will Expand to the UK". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
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  38. ^ "Franchise 500 Franchises | Entrepreneur.com". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  39. ^ Kavilanz, Parija (12 February 2013). "Five Hot Franchises". CNN. Retrieved 12 February 2013. Today, School of Rock has more than 10,000 kids enrolled in 105 locations in 31 states, as well as Mexico. CEO Chris Catalano, who joined the company in 2009, expects to open another 20 to 40 locations in 2013.
  40. ^ Moran, Gwen (5 January 2015). "3 Women to Watch in the Franchising Sector". Entrepreneur magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015. She leads more than 145 School of Rock franchises in eight countries, helping to develop the next generation of musicians.
  41. ^ Fallon, Nicole. "40+ Franchises For Every Budget". Business News Daily. Retrieved 17 August 2015. Since 1998, music education franchise School of Rock has been providing students of all ages with exceptional and one-of-a-kind musical experiences. The company encourages students to rehearse along with their fellow students, allowing for a uniquely supportive and motivating environment in which to succeed. School of Rock anticipates having more than 180 schools in operation by the end of 2015
  42. ^ "Franchise Costs & Earnings". School of Rock. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
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  45. ^ McKeon, Albert (14 February 2013). "School of Rock humming with Salesforce's Do task management application". TechTarget.com. Retrieved 15 February 2013. It has about 25 employees split between offices in Burr Ridge, Ill., and Denver. It also has about 1,500 mostly part-time employees at its company-owned and franchise locations.
  46. ^ "Little Wing Rock Preschool Music Education for 2-6 Year Olds". Little Wing Minnesota. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  47. ^ "Little Wing - School of Rock introduces early childhood music education class". School of Rock. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
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  49. ^ Paulin, Ben (29 March 2013). "Opening Act: School of Rock Coming to Norwood". Patch Network. Retrieved 29 March 2013. A typical program will include a private lesson once a week and then a three-hour group lesson on weekends.
  50. ^ Blabbermouth (26 January 2021). "School Of Rock Awarded U.S. Patent For Revolutionary 'School Of Rock Method'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  51. ^ News, E. I. N.; Kingrey, Jacob (18 July 2024). "School of Rock AllStars Hit the Road for Nationwide Tour". EIN News. Retrieved 25 April 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  52. ^ Evergreen, Callie (17 June 2020). "School of Rock Launches Songwriting Program Amid COVID-19 Remote Learning". franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  53. ^ Ziezulewicz, Geoff (26 March 2013). "A School of Rock is opening in Plainfield this May". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 March 2013. The School of Rock staff is comprised of professional musicians, who all have experience in rock bands, Fein said.
  54. ^ a b McPhate, Christian (11 February 2014). "How Dallas Became a School of Rock Hub". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 16 February 2014. The music leans more toward indie influences, although teachers like former Polyphonic Spree guitarist Ryan Fitzgerald, Shannon Grady of Hello My Name Is, David Fiegelman of Rodney Parker and 50 Peso Reward, David Ponder of Somebody's Darling, Wade Coffer of Homespun Remedies, Stephanie Burns of Spookeasy and Joel Butterfield of My Son My Executioner are more than capable of teaching all genres of music.
  55. ^ Coffey, Kevin (6 February 2011). "I wanna ROCK!". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2011. Kids ages 7 to 17 can enroll in one of four evening programs that teach guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keyboards.
  56. ^ "Making music as popular as soccer? Fast-growing School of Rock aims to expand music making with a unique approach to education. Franchise system offers opportunities for retailers as well". Music Trades. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2012. When everyone is depending on each other in a band, the kids do a better job enforcing a practice regime then their parents ever could.
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  65. ^ Lannamann, Ned (22 January 2014). "Get Schooled - School of Rock and the Best of Portland". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 7 March 2014. Now in its third year, the concert pairs students from the Portland chapter of School of Rock with members of local bands, sharing the stage for performances of said bands' songs.
  66. ^ Yerak, Becky (19 April 2012). "School of Rock rolls on with $5 million investment from private equity group". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 April 2012. It expects enrollment, now at about 8,000, to grow by more than 50 percent in the next two years.
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