NORWICH – It was standing room only at Monday night’s Norwich City School board meeting as approximately 60 parents, students and educators gathered in the high school cafeteria.
In fact, due to the large number of people wishing to address the board, president Heather Fredenburg made a motion to extend the half-hour time slot typically assigned for public comment to an hour. The main topic of discussion? A proposed scheduling change – from the current five block semestered schedule to a four block schedule – that many in attendance felt would have a significant and decidedly negative impact on the district’s music program.
In addition, the district is losing a pair of music educators – David Kirsch at Perry Browne and Lansing Dimon at the high school – as well as orchestral director Mark Sands’ reassignment from his current position at the elementary, middle and high schools to a full-time position at Perry Browne. Current middle school music educator Jamie Carrier would take over both the middle school and high school band programs.
Quoting former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, NHS Choral Director Mary Mayo said, “Music education is not a nice program if we can afford it. It’s an essential program we can’t afford not to have.”
According to Mayo, the district is not required to offer AP classes, music and art classes or electives. Those programs are offered because the district’s educators recognize their value in creating an outstanding academic program for students, she said.
“Our music program is strong and well respected around the area. One very important reason is due to our current five bell schedule,” said Mayo. “This configuration allows the students to schedule their advanced and AP courses along with electives and music better than ever before.”
When Mayo first joined the NCSD in 1990, a traditional schedule meant classes met every day for a shorter period of time, with choir and band scheduled on alternating days. A few years later, the district moved to a four block semestered schedule. While music classes doubled instructional time, said Mayo, enrollment was slashed in half. The modified, five block semestered schedule currently in use added flexibility, and has enabled students to participate in advanced and AP classes, music ensembles and electives with fewer scheduling conflicts than ever before, she added.
“In this schedule, choir, band and orchestra meet every day at different times, and enables students to be in more than one ensemble if they desire,” said Mayo. “This has allowed us to expand our curriculum and build the skills and confidence of our students. Our program is thriving.”
Mayo said that – under the proposed new schedule – the placement of music ensembles to avoid conflicts has been extremely challenging. She has spoken with counselors, she added, and has been presented a pair of options – an alternating schedule, where ensembles would meet every other day. This would enable students to participate in more than one ensemble but reduce instructional time by 50 percent when compared to current levels, which led Mayo to ask the board, “What part of my curriculum would you like me not to teach?”
The second option, which appears on the draft version of the schedule she’s been given, would see choir, band and orchestra all scheduled during the same block of time. For students in two ensembles, said Mayo, this would mean attending rehearsals on alternating days, forcing them to miss 50 percent of their instructional time in two music groups. Otherwise, students would have to choose one program over the other, she added.
“For the teacher, this would mean a full group rehearsal one day, and the alternate day we would be missing approximately 15 to 20 students while they attended the second music group,” said Mayo. “In choir, 20 students out of 60 currently enrolled is about one-third. In band, those 20 students represent nearly half of the group. To me, this would be disruptive to the learning process. Would a classroom teacher expect to find success if one-third of her class was absent every other day?”
As a retired music educator in the Village of Elenville, Plymouth resident Robert Oehme said he understood what the district’s music staff is thinking and feeling. As a retired director of performing arts, assistant superintendent and two term school board member – also in Elenville – he said he understood the pressures and difficulties of making any school district run smoothly for the benefit of its students.
“It’s sad that I was going to come to your re-organizational meeting and compliment you and your music staff on the wonderful music program you have here,” said Oehme. “Now I find myself wondering why the district is willing to allow student performance to suffer, by diminishing contact time in a successful program.”
Currently a certified NYSSMA vocal adjudicator, Oehme said he’s seen and worked with a number of music programs throughout New York state. And even though he has no children in the district, he asked the board of education – as the district’s policy-making body – to reconsider anything that would dismantle a successful program.
“I’ve had the honor of working with a number of your students during the year,” added Oehme. “They were a joy to work with, they are well trained musically, talented, well spoken, courteous, always looking to improve themselves and very much teenagers.”
Soon-to-be senior at NHS Allyson Morehead gave the board a student’s perspective on the situation. Last year, according to Morehead, the district’s music programs were “supremely successful,” citing the high school’s marching band, participation in NYSSMA and production of “Phantom of the Opera” as examples.
In the past four years at NYSSMA, competing at the highest level, the district’s music students have brought home gold. The last two years, gold with honors, added Mayo.
“If we lose one-third of the students every day we won’t have the same success rates,” added Morehead. “The music in Norwich has always been something we could be proud of and it may not be something we can be proud of anymore. We don’t want to lower our standards, I don’t think anyone wants us to lower our standards and I don’t want to lose what I’ve worked so hard to build.”
Colin Burlison, who will join the ranks of the junior class at NHS next year, has been involved with the music program since the sixth grade. He said he’s always heard that – if you have a dream – you have to go after it.
“My dream is music,” he added. “The music wing is like a second home to us, it’s our home away from home. We don’t know what to do with ourselves if we don’t have music. It’s vital for us.”
Orchestra director Mark Sands briefly addressed the board and reminded its members that the five block semestered schedule was formulated by teachers and that – on Saturday – the high school’s valedictorian and salutatorian both participated in the school’s music programs.
Quoting a recent opinion piece written by Evening Sun syndicated columnist Nat Hentoff, Sands said that districts are “removing the joy of learning from public schools” and added, “I think this could be called removing the joy of teaching from public schools,” as well.
According to Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan, high stakes standardized testing, eliminating $3 million from the budget and cutting of the January Regents are just a few of the challenges forcing the district to make these types of changes.
“There are a lot of pressures on the board of education to adjust. Things get put back in, it’s a long process and nothing’s etched in stone,” said the superintendent. “We have to make changes, we have to adjust to that and we’ll continue to adjust to that.”