Changes Planned for Elementary Instrumental Music Lesson Program
Reacting to concerns from parents, the program will be held before school and not after school starting in the fall; there would still be a fee for instrumental music lessons.
Reacting to parents concerns, Assistant Superintendent of Schools John Brackett said there will be changes to the elementary school instrumental music program in the fall.
The changes will not return the instrumental music program to a non-fee, in-school program. Two years ago, due to budget cuts, the elementary instrumental music program and band were eliminated.
"We still have financial issues returning the program to an in-school program," said Brackett.
Since the instrumental music and band program was cut from the Framingham Public Schools two years ago, an after-school fee-based program was created at each elementary schools thanks to the support of the Performing Arts Center of MetroWest and Centre Music House.
However, numbers of students taking instrumental music lessons has dropped from 600-700 students two years ago to about 185 students this year, Brackett told the School Committee last month.
In April, parents and students petitioned the School Committee to restore elementary band.
Parents said after-school classes, conflict with other extracurricular activities combined with the fee to learn an instrument were the main reasons for the reduction in numbers of fourth and fifth grade students learning to play a musical instrument. They also said the program in its current form would have a serious effect on the middle school and high school music programs, if it stayed an afterschool, fee-based activity.
Brackett formed a task force made of up students, parents and Framingham staff to look at the elementary instrumental music program. The recommendation was to phase in changes to the program.
Phase one would begin in this fall. Classes would be offered before school to reduce transportation issues for working parents. It is estimated classes would be offered 30 to 45 minutes before the start of school. Logistics would need to be worked out with each school's principals.
With lessons and ensemble before school, it eliminates conflict with other after-school activities like dance and sports, explained Brackett.
Also in phase one, a stipend-funded band director would be created to work with the Performing Arts Center of MetroWest to coordinate the program. The goal of this position is to coordinate the elementary programs with the current middle and high school programs.
With this change in the fall, "Framingham Public Schools would have a little stronger and more intensive involvement in the program," added Brackett.
The School Committee supported the changes, when Brackett presented it to them last month.
Gina Fishman
8:20 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Baby steps.....I'll take it.
Jim Rizoli
12:51 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sad to see all the time and effort spent in the schools is working with teaching kids how to speak English. So here is a great program that suffers.
Things sure have changed when I was a kid.....We had FREE everything!
Gee... I wonder what has changed.....I think we all know, but most people are afraid to discuss it. Diversity has it's good points but in the end the town suffers because it can't keep up with all the demands.
Jim@ccfiile.com
Leslie Useloff
1:54 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Ugh . . . having music lessons before school will discourage my child from continuing with her lessons.
Diane Tiger
3:15 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Leslie, you are not alone. I have to find where I read (maybe in NurtureShock?) that moving any program before school results in a drop in and/or low participation. Also, they found that missing an hour of sleep, for elementary school kids, causes a drop in performance equivalent to one grade level. If I find it I will post.
Joe Rizoli
3:47 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Of course nobody is asking why this is all happening.
See what other programs are sucking the life out of this and other programs. Connect the dots people.
Joe Rizoli
Andrea Dunne Adrian
3:53 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I'll have to be the third. We are one of the fourth and fifth grade families that does take music lessons (one of 185, down from 600-700 before cuts). Just can't do before school, doesn't work for our family. Sadly, for us, maybe the other 182 wanted it before school? I guess there was a large turnout, for families who wanted this, so I guess majority rules. Maybe they should have sent a quick email asking the families, who currently take lesson, if mornings or afternoons worked better?
Kim Poness
4:02 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Interesting - it seems as if Wellesley public schools are doing the same thing! Their website indicates that they offer private, tuition-based lessons after school, but the elementary school band meets before school. I just find that interesting . . .
Diane Tiger
4:13 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
@ Andrea - I believe there was a parent taskforce of some kind that worked with the administration. I thought they had surveyed the current participant families.
@ Susan - do you have any information about who was on the taskforce and how they solicited feedback from families?
Susan Petroni
10:19 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
As a parent I didn't receive a survey, but then my daughter was a 5th grader this year.
I know that middle and high school music teachers, parents and at least the high school student rep to the School Committee was on the task force with Brackett. Specifically, not sure but I could find out. I know the parents who spoke before the SC in April -- their ultimate goal was to have the program return to what it was - free in-school instrumental music lessons.
Jim Rizoli
9:08 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Jenny....You're missing the best stuff......
Jim@ccfiile.com
Susan Petroni
10:15 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
My daughter has done instrumental music lessons last year & this year.
We are part of the 185 this year.
As a McCarthy parent (until Friday) - not sure she would take lessons at 7:15 or 7:30 a.m. Ideally, I would have liked not to have paid for the lessons at all, but it was her 4th grade year the free in-school lessons and band program was eliminated.
IMO, music education is important -- I too grew up with music - be it instrumental or choral -- in elementary school for free and during the school day.
Jim Rizoli
10:45 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Pretty soon the kids will be playing the Framingham funeral march... as their school song......in Spanish and Portuguese.....
Jim@ccfiile.com
Joe Rizoli
3:54 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Disclaimer:
I read everybody's post because I'm a grown up adult who loves music and wants to share that with everyone else who loves music.
Joe Rizoli
Joe Rizoli
4:02 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Jenny don't feel so bad, just think while your kids go through violin and tuba withdrawals, tens of kids are getting free busing, free lunches and breakfast.
Thank you and everybody for those sacrifices to humankind. I just hope you aren't contributing to these freebeiers obesity.
Joe Rizoli
Kathleen M. Howland
9:27 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I specialize in neuroscience and the arts and the value that music education has in the development of children. The school board's decision to eliminate the program is contrary to the latest research that shows music training advances development of the attentional circuitry. It's not that learning an instrument helps you with math or english directly, it's that it supports the development of your ability to pay attention and concentrate. That's the advantage.
My husband is one of the music teachers in the after school program with PAC. He was assigned 3 different instruments to teach (clarinet, sax, trumpet). They were all beginners. Each instrument has its own requirements for teaching. The program, although a wonderful collaboration of community resources, was not designed for children to flourish in the learning of their chosen instrument. My husband and I are both music teachers and have ached over this ill-informed decision by the School Board. We know our daughter will grow up musically but we very much want her to do that in a peer group. We are currently selling our home to move to a town that offers both excellent academics and fine arts training. We regret this as we have so many wonderful friends here.
Joe Rizoli
12:37 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
This is very sad. Instead of "choosing Framingham" people are leaving because things have changed for the worse.
Just think, people are still not connecting the dots here or more important, trying to ignore the dots as to WHY these programs are either being cut or changed in a way to cause a lot of problems for those in these programs.
So people, find out what programs are thriving in the schools that are now priorities over yours.
I'll tell you what, renounce your citizenship, go out of the country, change your name and come back in illegally and you'll find out life is much easier for you because everything will be free for you and your kids. This would be a great social experiment.
Joe Rizoli
Andrea Dunne Adrian
1:33 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Thanks for everything you and your husband do, Kathleen. Thanks for talking to the importance of music in education, so true. Hoping we can get back to music lessons during school, in the very near future.
Jim Rizoli
1:34 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Framingham has chosen to be a welfare town than an Art/Music type of town.
So I guess teaching kids English will be what our schools will be noted for, and not for Arts, music and the things that excel students to the next level.
If you want that to happen then you might want to move out of the town.
This is what happens when diversity runs amok......The money spent catering to it will overtake the the things that develop the senses and mind.
It took a while to get here but it has.....
Jim@ccfiile.com
Andrea Dunne Adrian
1:38 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
To add to what Kathleen has said:
http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/youngmind.html
Jim Rizoli
2:24 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Nice link! You folks might want to make your voices more heard on this one.
Jim@ccfiile.com
Kathleen M. Howland
3:38 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Here are several relevant articles from the Music and Brain Imaging Lab at Beth Israel Hospital under the direction of Dr. Gottfried Schlaug demonstrating the advantages that learning to play an instrument have on brain development:
http://www.musicianbrain.com/papers/Wan_Schlaug_MusicMaking_BrainPlasticity.pdf
http://www.musicianbrain.com/papers/Schlaug_CorpusCallosum_Children_Music_nyas_04842.pdf