“Lyla in the Loop,” a new PBS cartoon has a theme song performed using the voices of Philadelphia second graders, writes Mike DeNardo for KYW Newsradio.

The second graders attend Fanny Jackson Coppin School in South Philadelphia. One of those students is show producer Dave Peth’s daughter, Anna. 

The recording session took place in November 2022 when their teacher Danielle Harrigan accompanied her students to MilkBoy The Studio.

The students spent three hours at the studio to record their 30-second song.

“They kept going, I thought this would be easier!’ Because it was only 30 seconds. But we had to keep repeating it,” said Harrigan.

What was a fun experience for the students also gave them a chance to be exposed to careers in animation and sound recording. 

“A lot of the kids who like to draw were like, ‘Oh wow! I think I would like to be an animator.’ And they had never heard of a sound engineer. So that was something that they said also may have been an amazing career,” Harrigan added. 

Ultimately, the experience solidified her belief that students should have more opportunities to envision careers at an earlier stage of life. 

Read more about “Lyla in the Loop” and the students whose voices you hear in the theme song in KYW Newsradio.

_____