Someone You Should Know: People's Music School
(CBS) -- You rarely get something for free. But in one Chicago community, volunteers and supporters are giving young children the valuable lesson of music at no cost.
CBS 2's Harry Porterfield says the people who make this happen are all someone you should know.
The People's Music School opened its doors in 1976 with 25 registered students.
"It got it into my head that my job should be to teach people how to play the instrument for free," founder Rita Simo says.
Simo was a classically trained pianist from the Dominican Republic, where music lessons were free.
Today, the school occupies its own building, where 300 students are enrolled at no cost.
"I think that the mission is just so pure," says president and artistic director Jennifer Kim Matsuzawa.
She says parents of students are expected to perform volunteer service for the school, in exchange for tuition.