Sandy » The morning bell hasn't yet rung at Oakdale Elementary School and Debby Wetzel's string orchestra is rehearsing "Fiddlers Frolic," a tough feat for musicians in their maiden year.

After a wobbly start, the fourth- and fifth-graders squeal into action, off tempo and off key, eliciting a grimace from Wetzel, who motions them to stop.

"Oh boy, we were right there in the groove for a while. Then we lost it," she says. "That's OK. Let's try again."

Learning to play music takes time, a patient and skilled instructor and money, an increasingly rare combination in today's budget-starved schools. But, for now, it's all there at Oakdale where Wetzel has spent the past year reviving the school's orchestra and harmonizing her instruction with the regular curriculum.

For her efforts, the 16-year educator was named top teacher by the Utah Music Educators Association.

For 45 minutes a day, Oakdale students -- from kindergartners learning "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to sixth-graders whose iPods are full of Jonas Brothers and Britney -- attend Wetzel's music and movement classes.

Music and the arts are a "joy," said Wetzel, an accomplished violinist.

But they're also fundamental to education, stimulating aural, visual and mental acuity, the perceptual building blocks of the brain, research shows. They are springboards to creativity, require discipline and inspire confidence in children.

"Students who are engaged in the arts, tend to be more engaged in school, period," said Amber Roderick-Landward, elementary curriculum director at Canyons School District.

Wetzel is the only elementary-level music specialist in the district. At other schools, music lessons are mostly limited to theory.

And though Roderick-Landward would like to clone Wetzel, funding is anything but certain. Instead, the district is organizing a consortium of advocates, parents and college professors to explore how to "embed" the arts district-wide.

"We want to target our efforts to truly impact the instructional setting, not just having an add-on music class, but embedding the arts," she said.

Wetzel is a believer, already using music to enrich and reinforce other learning.

An introduction to jazz legends complements fifth-grade history lessons on the Civil Rights era, she says. Learning that a measure equals four quarter notes is practical math.

"And songs helps us memorize things," said Wetzel. "We've got a great one for kids learning the 50 states."

Building the kiddie orchestra has been gratifying, but Wetzel says her goal is to impart a love for music and learning.

Sour notes? Improper technique? Stage fright?

No big deal, says Wetzel who calls performances, "informances," underscoring that learning is a process, not a means to an end.

Shirlene Campbell, the mother of one of Wetzel's prodigies, is thrilled with the program and hopes it continues.

"We've had music instruction before, but not like this," said Campbell. "More than anything, I think, it says something about this teacher."