Bill Rossi
Like most creatives, musician Bill Rossi struggled under the traditional teaching model. A music teacher/mentor showed him he could self-educate... and so he did.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Bill taught on faculty and then in his private studio. He began to understand that most people learn best through relationship and emotional relevance, and that learning happens naturally once a person's strengths are developed.
Over time, he defined a teaching approach that ignites students' learning process and guides them to develop the inherent abilities that are fundamental to all learning.
In 1995 he founded and directed an arts mentoring nonprofit that served over 2,500 challenged youth and adults. In 2008 he founded Merge Education, Inc. to disseminate his approach.
This video documents the arts nonprofit Bill founded and directed from 1994-2008:
Founded in 2008, Merge Education disseminates Bill's strength-based teaching approach via his book Venturing Together: Empowering Students to Succeed and software SETS: Student Evaluation and Teaching System.
Reviews for Venturing Together
Wander de C. Braga MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Albany, NY
By providing the tools to reach a person's underlying spirit, or essence, Bill Rossi's approach enables teachers to bring forth aspects of students' being that truly humanize them.
Elinor A. Graham MD, MPH
Medical Director, Children and Teens clinic, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA
In my 25 years as a pediatrician I have never seen another approach that turns around youths' lives as well as this one does.
James Harvey
Senior Fellow, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington; co-author, A Legacy of Learning
Bill Rossi reminds us that young people cannot grow up complete unless art, music and creativity are part of their lives, and demonstrates how to bring out the best in students with specific instructional approaches encouraging mentoring, strength-based teaching, motivation, and putting students first.
What he demonstrates is that effective education is … about encouraging young people’s innate love of learning.