Teacher's 'Hamilton' rap video goes viral in plea to save arts funding from school budget cuts

GERMANTOWN, Md. - A Montgomery County Public Schools teacher is going viral thanks to her passionate and unconventional message to the board of education.

Joanna Chilcoat-Fellows teaches theater arts at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown. The Montgomery County School board recently proposed cuts to arts funding for the 2018-2019 budget.

Chilcoat Fellows says she wanted to express her opposition to that idea in a memorable way -- so she decided to make her rap a parody of a popular song from hit Broadway show "Hamilton."

"When I got it in my mind to write the rap. I kindof joked about it with a line or two with some colleagues and they were like 'No no no. You have to do this.' And then it only took a few hours to write out the lines. I practiced them with my students, my students gave me insights and some suggestions."

Joanna says she was inspired by "Hamilton" because it is so recognizable to so many people.

(App users CLICK HERE to view the rap video)