Music Task Force Report Seeks to Improve Future of Program in District 197

A budget of $50,000 for repair of instruments, more consistency, and three new full time staff positions lead the list of a task force’s recommendations for the music program.

The task force—a group of parents, district staff, administration and a board member— since December. Their job has been to articulate the music program’s strengths and challenges, and figure out the best ways to tackle weaknesses that have led to declining enrollment, staffing and perceived instability.

The process was facilitated by Doug Orzolek, assistant music department chair at the University of St. Thomas, who also helped guide the music curriculum’s overhaul in 2010.

Initial discussions between the stakeholders proved cathartic.

 “It was like sitting in a therapy session,” said Interim Superintendent Tom Nelson. “Everyone was spilling their guts—from the teachers that were there, to the parents that were there to the administration that were listening. … It was really a healthy process for everyone to go through.”

 “To me, the largest issue facing the music program was probably the easiest one to fix – communication between all of the stakeholders,” said Orzolek in the report.

For music parent Rich Post, the results of the soul-searching are promising. He described his biggest complaint with the music program as a lack of support for middle school music.

Enrollment in middle school band, orchestra and choir has declined since 2001-2002 in the middle schools. At Heritage, they have had different band directors for seven of the past eight years. 

Post said that ultimately the task force came up with he calls “terrific recommendations” that will improve middle school music. “We’re very happy,” he said.

The recommendations were presented by Nelson to the school board Feb. 21.

“This warms my heart,” said board member Brenda Jo Corbett at the presentation. She described the arts as “a constancy across global cultures.”

Staff have already been given the task of providing options for how to implement many of the recommendations, such as pull-out lessons.

Budget Consideration is Next

As for the financial commitment that the board must make to fulfill the recommendations, Nelson said that the task force did not ask for anything unrealistic.

Nelson said that while music programs require an investment, they are vital to a district’s value.

“Good districts have good music programs,” said Nelson.

While the three FTE may not come on all at once, Nelson said there is a commitment from the board to strengthen music in the district.

According to music teacher Katie Pearson, those three FTEs will achieve a big impact in terms of program offerings. With three more positions, Pearson said the district could equalize music classroom time across the elementary schools and middle schools. Extra staff could also reinstate pull-out lessons and offer a ninth-grade orchestra separate from the high school’s 10th-12th grade orchestra.

“We just want to offer our students the best possible experience they can have,” said Pearson.

As for the $50,000, Pearson said that money would go toward maintenance of instruments, some decades old. The district will still be reliant on parent boosters and Minnesota Public Radio’s Play it Forward program to help provide instruments to students from low-income families.

Stakeholders will likely be watchful of how the recommendations unfold in the district’s budgeting process and have been encouraged to contact board members in support of the report.

 Initial budget parameters are expected to be presented to the board March 5.

The task force has also recommended a follow-up report be completed next year to continue evaluating how their recommendations are being rolled out.

 “We’ll get the things done that the report talked about, but in the end, to build a program requires a commitment from staff and parents—everybody,” said Nelson.

To see the full report and list of recommendations, see the attached PDF.