Atlanta, GA (September 18, 2025) – Who says math can’t be fun? Make Music Count, the innovative new STEM educational system created by Marcus Blackwell, will be used for teaching math in 16 elementary schools across Glendale, Cal. The Glendale school board recently approved the measure, and programming will begin in October of this year, shortly after the beginning of the academic year. Make Music Count is set to be utilized during extended learning time at participating schools and at after school enrichment spaces. With this new initiative across 16 additional schools, Make Music Count has now helped children overcome their fear of math in nearly 500 schools across the United States!
This is no trial run; the Glendale board decided to utilize Make Music Count in the 2025-2026 school year after a very fruitful pilot program over the summer, which included 6 of its schools. After tremendous success with increasing engagement and excitement from students in math, Glendale has now given the thumbs up to use Make Music Count in all 16 schools. Every day throughout the entire summer, participating students showed their excitement by sending new song suggestions that they wished to see incorporated into lessons through the Make Music Count app. Glendale educators loved the level of engagement demonstrated by their students and how the app even got historically math-averse students in their classes to actively participate and get excited about learning math in the unique Make Music Count way. This marks Make Music Count’s first foray into LA school districts and Marcus is hopeful that the impact his program is making will expand to more schools in the county of Glendale, and in the state of California at large!
Anyone familiar with Make Music Count understands the unique appeal and charm that causes kids to transform from ‘arithmetic averse’ to ‘mathematical masters!’ Through either guidebooks in Make Music Count’s Keyboard Bundles or the Make Music Count app, kids are given math problems to solve and work out notes on a keyboard. Once they’ve solved a series of problems, their reward is learning to play a section of their chosen song using the notes they figured out through math power. This brilliant positive reinforcement loop incentivizes mathematical improvement by providing an appealing goal. Soon, kids will be learning to play on the piano and overcoming their fear of math all at the same time!
Information about Make Music Count, official keyboard kits and the companion app can be found through the official website www.makemusiccount.com. Bring the STEM learning tool trusted by almost 500 schools nationwide to your home with Make Music Count!
ABOUT MAKE MUSIC COUNT
The mission of Make Music Count is to use creativity to allow every student to reach their full educational potential. We believe that every student should feel included during instruction and welcomed to the opportunity of being successful. Marcus Blackwell Jr has played the piano since the age of 5 studying classical, jazz, and gospel piano. He began playing professionally on the piano and organ for churches at the age of 14. However, in school he struggled in math due to intimidation. This was corrected once he saw that you need math to play the piano. This newfound confidence in his math abilities led to him receiving a B.S. in Mathematics from Morehouse College. He then invented and founded Make Music Count as a creative way to improve students math performance by playing songs on the piano. It’s the solution he wished he had growing up. Marcus believes that we need creative methods like Make Music Count to truly reach students early enough to see more students pursue STEM degrees in college.
FACEBOOK | TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | LINKEDIN