The county of York is best known for its eponymous Barbell Company and its Harley-Davidson factory. So, with all that heavy metal, a School of Rock—the first in Central Pennsylvania—is a harmonious addition to the community.
That idea of blending with the community and contributing something invaluable is a chord that resonates throughout the life of owner Bernadette Lauer, who opened the school’s doors in November 2023. Lauer, a York native and graduate of York College, began her career as an emergency medical technician before using her communications degree to work for a newspaper and television news and then for the county government. In one way or another she was, as she says, “trying to inform citizens to help keep them safe.”
Lauer transitioned into corporate communications, working for more than 20 years for several companies, including Harley-Davidson. As often happens after a long career, she felt “burnt out” and started exploring a new path. “I loved what I did, but I was no longer excited about it,” she says. “And so I was kind of looking at what could I do for this next half of my life.”
The soon-to-be school owner had her own homework, and in researching new opportunities, she heard about the School of Rock. That’s when two passions became one.
Before college, EMT work and a career in communications, there was music. “I’ve always loved music,” Lauer reminisces. “Since I was a little girl, I put on my headphones, and that was my outlet … music saved me.”
Like many of us, Lauer had seen the 2003 “School of Rock” film, but when she learned that there was an actual school, the thought of combining her two loves—music and helping the community—was an irresistible dream she had to pursue.
More research followed. Included were conversations with the school’s business executives, but it was what she heard from school owners that really inspired her. The owners had unique perspectives, “but the common thing that I heard out of all those owners,” she says, holding ... the conversations, “is if you are doing this to make a difference in your community, then you’re doing the right thing.” Some owners added, “That they have had parents come up and literally say, ‘You saved my child’s life through music.’” It was this idea that she could change lives and make a difference, something “you can’t put a price tag” on, that convinced her to make the leap.
In the months since the school opened, she has been doing exactly that, and more, by expanding her vision of trying to make her school a starting point to reach out to the broader community. As we talk, students and parents interrupt to say hi, and from listening to the conversations and meeting Lauer’s daughters—one taking guitar lessons and another working at the front desk— it’s evident that this is, literally and figuratively, a family. In fact, among the school’s students, which range from age 4 to adults, are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers from the same family. For Lauer, this “School of Rock Family” and the music are a means to an end, not to simply change the lives of students and parents, but also the county she grew up in and loves.
As part of that process, Lauer has talked with the York Music Teachers Association and the professor of music at York College about ways to contribute to local arts. “If we can join forces and somehow just grow the community culturally through art and music, then it kind of goes from there,” she says. “So that’s super big picture, and I think just getting our students out and bringing joy through music too, I think that’s a great thing. I always say I think the world would be a terribly dull place without music, and we just don’t have enough of it here in York.”
The music is definitely here now. It’s here in the practice rooms where students learn their instruments and forge friendships while forging the lifelong love for music that Lauer experienced as a child. It’s here in the school’s first student public performance held in May. While Lauer praises School of Rock’s patented teaching method and their own books, it’s this experience of playing together that she sees as truly unique. “There are plenty of music teachers out there, but to have the whole group band experience here really sets us apart from any other music school in this area,” she says.
Lauer looks forward to future public concerts and to watching students take what they’ve learned in the school outside and seeing how it brings people together. That connection and mutual support, and the belief that music can save and unite us, echoes the chorus of Lauer’s life and work. It’s a song worth singing, and more importantly, it’s one everyone sings together. As Bono once sang, “All I got is a red guitar, three chords and the truth. All I got is a red guitar. The rest is up to you.”
School of Rock's Summer Season Show will take place on September 22 at 1:00 p.m. at the Iron Lion in Hanover, featuring Classic metal and arena rock songs from Performance Program students and Heart & Friends songs from Adult Program students.
School of Rock York | 930 S Richland Ave, York | 717-955-7625 | schoolofrock.com/locations/york | FB/IG: @schoolofrockyork
