When prospective parents come to take tours of Manhattan's East Village Community School, Assistant Principal Bradley Goodman is quick to say what distinguishes PS 315 from other New York City public schools: “As far as I know, we’re the only elementary school with an album available on the iTunes music store.”

That album is Songs from the East Village, a compilation of eighteen multicultural children’s songs performed by the school’s highly international student body and the kids' parents. One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the album will go to fund music, art, and language programs at the school, which will help to close a gap caused by increased budget cuts.

The cuts are part of a city-wide trend. New York City public school budgets for the coming school year have been decreased by about four percent compared to last year's budgets, which leaves many schools with no option but to slash programs.

“The budget cuts have affected all the schools in New York City with a profound way. We’re being asked to do more with less,” says Assistant Principal Goodman. “I think the logical response most schools have would be to cut out the programming that is not, so called, "mandatory." And often that ends up being arts and music programs.”

The East Village Community School, also known as PS 315, has to fundraise for nearly all of its arts programs. That means it has to raise $30,000 every year through grants and through an association of parents to cover music and theater classes. The fundraising has paid off. So far, the East Village Community School has met its mark. Despite several years of continued cuts, the school hasn't had to cancel arts classes yet.

The school differs from other public elementary schools in Manhattan in that it is tiny—only 200 students are enrolled in grades K-5—and it has a particularly strong commitment to the arts. Many of the parents are recording artists themselves, including the renowned bassist Melvin Gibbs, ukulele player Khabu Young Dog, beat-box artist Kid Lucky, and Irish folk singer Susan McKeown. McKeown came up with the idea for Songs from the East Village and produced the project, and musically-inclined parents donated their time.

Other musicians featured on the album aren’t professional at all, like the two Iraqi children who recently came to the US. They recorded the Baghdad playground song “Belly a Belbool.” Like that track, Songs from the East Village reflects the school's diversity. Most of the pieces on the album are traditional songs which came from the members of the school community—Tibetans, Nigerians and Puerto Ricans—to name just a few.

As the project grew, nearly the entire student body and staff became involved, trucking out to Brooklyn to record at Wombat Studios, where McKeown records her music. To pay for studio time and other costs, the school's parents association raised $10,000 on Kickstarter, a Web site which connects small donors with projects that require funding.

But with music sales continuing to plummet, an album is far from a sure-fire way to raise money. Between 2008 and 2009 alone, record sales declined 12.3 percent, according to Recording Industry Association of America figures. Over the last decade, sales have fallen 50 percent. But Assistant Principal Bradley Goodman is optimistic, noting that with zero money invested and no middlemen to pay, the album's bound to turn over a profit. Making the album also had an unexpected result.

“This project did start as an interesting and new way for us to make money, but it ended up being something much bigger than that," Goodman says. "It’s really galvanized our entire school community.”

Students from the East Village Community School recording vocals for Songs from the East Village. Photo by Jayne Wexler