Re-Tuning Band

Low enrollment in high school band and weaker-than-expected skills when students get there has Santa Fe Public Schools working to change music education from the ground up. That means reassessing the district's elementary school music program, which, as of now, puts clarinets and trumpets in students' hands as early as fourth grade.

But the proposal, which suggests not enrolling fourth- and fifth-graders in band and instead focusing that time on daily instruction for sixth-graders, has already been met with some rumblings about cuts to the band program, and Superintendent Joel Boyd is quick to explain that's not the goal.

"This is not about reducing music time at all. The question here is about, how do you teach band instruction? How do kids learn how to play an instrument? How do they gain an appreciation for the instrument? This is not a reduction in time or resources at all," says Boyd, who faced questions about the elementary school band program at an Oct. 27 community forum.

This also isn't an order to schools on how exactly to run their program, he says. The district crafts a framework, but individual school communities and staff still shape their own programs based on their priorities. That's a change from the more centralized model Boyd inherited when he arrived at SFPS in 2012, and there's some lingering confusion about it, he says. But he's been working to "unlock" resources, giving school communities flexibility to decide how they would like to direct funding and allocate student time. Schools that don't want to change elementary band classes don't have to.

The Santa Fe Public Schools music coordinator is trying to solve the problems of low enrollment in band programs in higher grades and weak skills among those who do show up for middle school programs by building a stronger class of students, through more time and more consistent courses. Marching band participation in Santa Fe high schools, for example, has dwindled to less than 40 students, according to a memo that the district's music coordinator, Leann DeVane, wrote to Boyd. Other New Mexico districts see 150 students in marching band.

Those who do show up for Santa Fe's high school programs can't seem to compete with students and bands from other towns in state competitions like the New Mexico Activities Association Concert Band Contest (though Santa Fe High Wind Ensemble took eighth in that competition this year, and Aspen Community School and El Dorado Community School also had bands place in the top 10) and the Zia Marching Band Fiesta. Santa Fe students are also being left out of programs like statewide honor bands, including All-State Band, DeVane contends.

Her memo states that music educators in Santa Fe identified the design of the elementary band program as among the causes of the problems. A strong high school band begins with "exemplary" elementary and middle school bands that graduate students with strong skills on their instruments.

Instead, she writes, "When our elementary students reach middle school, even when arriving from our most successful elementary settings, they cannot play major scales, produce appropriate tone quality, and they are not ready for real literature."

The band program loses 300 students between fourth and fifth grade, and another 100 to 200 between fifth and sixth, and more when those students enroll at a middle school.

"We're losing a lot of children between fourth and fifth grade, and these are children who wanted band; they're gung ho and passionate about learning an instrument, but because they're not experiencing the success they want, they're deciding that band is not for them," DeVane says. "They're just not having the consistency and frequency of instruction they need to succeed, and we need to give them a program that works. That's our responsibility."

The current program sees band taught twice a week in fourth, fifth and sixth grades. It's a pull-out program students choose to enroll in and varies from school to school, with some allowing fourth-graders to select one instrument to study and some rotating them through a selected list of options, changing every six or seven weeks before choosing one instrument to focus on in fifth grade. Middle school and high school students can take band daily.

"Two days a week for any child starting band, no matter the age, isn't enough to help them successfully acquire and develop the skills they need to play successfully," DeVane tells SFR. "And if they had daily instruction, which is something that is not possible in our elementary school settings, if they had daily instruction, they would have the teacher contact time, they would have the consistency, they would have the time they need to be successful on the instrument."

DeVane and a team of teachers from all grades came together to draft the recommendation that, rather than spread instruction over fourth, fifth and sixth grades in elementary schools, they focus on the top grade and give those students music classes five days a week. They're studying the schedules now, DeVane says, to see what can be done to increase the frequency of instruction. The existing program would be phased out, so any fourth-graders now taking band who want to continue next year could do so.

"If you were going to give intensive band instruction, then they are agreeing completely: Put an instrument in the hand immediately," Boyd says. "But when you're only doing it once or twice a week, then there are some foundational skills that need to be learned as you progress to getting the instrument in the hands so that students don't get frustrated and give up."

Principals and schools would be given the option to restructure their programs based on that recommendation from the music director and music advisory committee, which will be presented to the school board at their Nov. 5 meeting.

Whether the modifications will really address the problems and how feasible the proposed changes will be in the face of already crowded student schedules are among concerns parents are raising.

"Even though it's not an academic, it is still an enrichment, and it's a learning tool," says Amy Fairchild, president of the Wood Gormley Elementary Parent Teacher Coalition. She has a son playing trombone at Wood Gormley for the third year in a row, one of 118 students at the 373-student school participating in the band program, 80 of whom are fourth- and fifth-graders.

"The impact on the children is so huge, and they're making a determination without really having the feedback of the community or the kids, and I think that's really a shame," Fairchild says, adding that the proposed change doesn't seem like a viable plan. "With the rigor of academics and the testing requirements, I really don't know how they're going to make band an option for kids five days a week."

In 2011, a similar effort was made to change the elementary band program, but when the decision went before the school board, they opted to keep the program as it was.

"Here we are, four years later, right back to square one," says John Trentacosta, who taught in Santa Fe Public Schools for 18 of his 25-year teaching career, much of it spent instructing elementary school students. Trentacosta spoke in favor of keeping the band program the way it was back at that 2011 school board meeting.

Fourth grade, he claims, is an opportune time to start making music. What students need is more instruction, not less.

"Kids are wide open. It's a great age, and it's coming from their inquisitiveness, their wonder of everything that's new and bright," Trentacosta says. "Sixth grade is a turning point. That's why they have middle schools."

By sixth grade, classroom structure is changing, academic rigor and attention to grades is increasing, and peer pressure is on the upswing, he says. He claims the practice of rotating students through instruments is "designed to fail," though DeVane says it's meant to be an "exploratory environment."

Trentacosta also questioned the mention of contests among the reasons to restructure.

"What about the experience of music? Are you negating the importance of the experience of the music?" he asks. "To me that's more important than winning the marching band contest."

Whatever the struggles, the National Association of Music Merchants-supported NAMM Foundation included Santa Fe Public Schools, for the second year in a row, on its list of best communities for music education. The award evaluates schools on funding, music class participation, instruction time and facilities, among other components of music education and community support. More than 3,000 students participate in band, choir, guitar and string orchestra in Santa Fe schools.

In addition to the presentation to the board of education during their meeting at 5:30 pm Nov. 5, the issue is expected to surface at the superintendent's community forum at 6 pm tonight at Gonzales Elementary.

Santa Fe Reporter