Only one in five public schools in California have a full-time arts and music program and nearly 88% are failing to provide the art and music education required by law. But one school has been working for more than 20 years to provide music education for students of all socio-economic backgrounds: the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which was started by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, 'Flea.'

Ethan Gonzalez is a student at the Silverlake Conservatory. He talked about his experience at the school.

“People here are very important to the conservatory and how it functions. I feel like that's why it matters. It's for the people. It's for people to connect. I'm here to meet anyone and everyone, and they love music. I feel like finding like-minded people like yourself is probably the most important reason for coming to a conservatory like this," Gonzalez said.

The Conservatory's co-founder, Michael "Flea" Balzary, talked about the importance of providing musical education for young people. 

"A little over 20 years ago, I, with a couple of friends, started this music school, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, for the purpose of educating the youth of the community and keeping our traditional music education alive and creating a community hub for people to come together around something beautiful," Balzary said.

The Conservatory provides scholarships for students who might otherwise not be able to afford a musical education. Balzary talked about the importance of making such an education accessible for students.

“The amount of money that someone has should never dictate education of any kind,” he said. “I just want the scholarship program to be bigger because it’s about a third of the kids on scholarship. But I wish it was all scholarship. I wish it was all free. ... Even though we’re about music, the benefits of music are way beyond.”

If you're interested in learning more about the Silverlake Conservatory of Music and their scholarship program, visit their website.

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