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September 29, 2005
Step By Step: LA Arts Ed Plan is Making a Difference
LA County's Arts for All plan seems to be gaining steam and is having a real impact on the restoration of music and arts education. The plan calls for 5% of school funding to be allocated to arts education.
The LA Times reports today that it is working. This is certainly a model worth looking at for other areas in desperate need of revitalization of arts education.
County Plan Is Helping Districts Replenish Starving Arts BudgetsWhen the Los Angeles County Arts Commission approached Tom Whaley about participating in a 10-year program to improve arts education in the Santa Monica and Malibu schools, he was more than a little skeptical.
"I was always about bringing in more art or more dance," said Whaley, arts coordinator for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, where taxpayers and community donors have helped maintain music, drama, art and dance on campuses during lean budget times. The county's more long-term approach held little appeal.
But Whaley soon came to see the value of the effort, designed to help the 80 Los Angeles County school districts develop plans for putting arts into the curricula for all students and to encourage school boards to work toward committing 5% of their operating budgets to arts education.
Two years after his district signed on in 2003, Whaley believes the county's approach is the way to go. "This is about systemic change," Whaley said of "Arts for All: Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education."
County Plan Is Helping Districts Replenish Starving Arts Budgets - Los Angeles Times
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September 28, 2005
What a Difference a Year Makes - Music Returns to Fresno!
Last year at this time Fresno Unified School District had eliminated the music program. As the new school year gets into full swing the sound of music has returned to this town. Let's hope this is a trend that catches on in California!
On Wednesday, the Fresno Unified school board will hear how teachers are restoring the music program, including the addition of weekly classroom lessons for first-graders. The district is trying out such general music lessons at 11 schools in hopes of getting trustees to approve more funding next year to expand instruction to other grades.Elementary music was eliminated during budget cuts for the 2004-05 school year and high schools had some music funding trimmed. The district was able to bring back the $3.4 million program this year, after reaching contract agreements with employee unions to cap health care costs.
Kate Wippern, Fresno Unified's music coordinator, said restoration got a slow start. She's still working to find and repair instruments placed in storage so elementary schools can recreate band or orchestra, and she's still working to find enough music teachers because many left during the year hiatus. She said some middle schools don't have enough interested students or room in their class schedules for music to re-establish a band program.
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September 25, 2005
I couldn't have said it better!
Just back from a terrific conference on the future of the arts scene here in New Jersey as well as working on our "new model" for arts education advocacy (more on that later.)
At the conference there was an wonderful opening session that I was going to write about to share with all of you. Then, I found how someone had done it better. So, since I could not say it better... I won't.
From Andrew Taylor
Remembering how to tell good storiesThe opening keynote of the New Jersey conference I'm attending was Andy Goodman, a communications consultant to nonprofit organizations with a previous life as a television scriptwriter and radio syndicator. Goodman reminded us of the power and humanity of storytelling when communicating a nonprofit's message, and he showed painfully familiar examples of how far many of us have strayed from the craft (complex powerpoints, numbing statistics and charts, dry detail).
There are lots of helpful thoughts on the subject in Goodman's monthly newsletter, but the heart of his message was this: every organization should strive to discover their core stories, the stories that define them, and ensure that everyone in the organization (staff, board, supporters) know these stories by heart.
The rest of the story at:
The Artful Manager: Andrew Taylor on the business of arts and culture.
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September 21, 2005
The Parent Trap - EP
I wrote about this earlier but was so bothered by the issue I created an EP (extended play) version for everyone!
“The minute a school district is able to shift the responsibility to fund a program from the district to the parents... they will never take the responsibility back.”
There is an emerging trend that, until recently, had been isolated to California (Redwood City, Concord, and dozens of others). This trend has now started to pop up in school districts across the country. I call it The Parent Trap.
To explain this phenomenon, here is an e-mail we received from someone after they watched the “Dr. Phil Show” episode, The Power of Music that illustrates the point:
I am a parent in the Islip, NY school district, and although I no longer have any children in the elementary school I am worried. Our school's budget recently failed and cut from the school program was our music program in our Elementary schools. Our Board of Ed says that if we can raise $170,000 in donations, grants, or scholarships we will be able to restore our elementary music program.
Did you see what just happened? In a two-step move the school district has now shifted the responsibility to fund a core subject, music, from the school board to the parents.
This is The Parent Trap. And more and more parents and concerned citizens, with the good intentions of trying to keep their music programs alive, are falling for it. What happens?
The minute a school district is able to shift the responsibility to fund a program from the district to the parents... they will never take the responsibility back.
If You Don’t Pass this Budget, We’ll Kill This Music Program
If You Don’t Pass this Budget, We’ll Kill This Music Program
The Parent Trap really is a two-step process:
First, using nearly the same strategy as highlighted in the January 1973 cover of National Lampoon ("If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog"), school administrators will bundle a popular program (in this case, music) with other less popular budget items in a referendum, in order to get the budget passed. The veiled and unstated threat being, “If You Don’t Pass This Budget, We’ll Kill This Music Program.”
It’s interesting to note that we have never seen any other core subject placed on a budget referendum - ever!
By placing the music program into a budget referendum, the school system has now absolved themselves of their responsibility to fund music. If the budget passes, they get the money for all their other programs and the music program stays. If it fails, the school administration now has the “cover” to kill the program by saying, “This is what the community choose.” This, of course, is a false assumption. It’s not the music programs people are opposed to; people are opposed to more taxes.
If You Want It So Badly - You Pay for it!
So, what happens when the budget fails? School officials will show how disappointed they are, they’ll say how much they support the music program, and then, with a simple suggestion, spring step two of Parent Trap: “If you can raise the (insert budget amount here) from the community, we will put the music program back.”
The trap has now been successfully executed. Not only has the school administration passed the buck by pointing to the budget failure as “a community decision” to cut the music program, they have now fully shifted the burden to funding the program, or not, to the parents and concerned citizens in the community.
Parents, already deeply disappointed by the loss of the music program, and out of a natural desire to provide this valuable educational experience for their children, jump at this chance for a solution. They organize, create community foundations, do fundraising, and attempt to keep the music program alive as an initiative funded by donations.
While this may solve the immediate problem for the parents, it is not a viable long-term solution. Having the music program (a core subject under federal law and education policy in many states) now solely funded based on the community’s ability to fundraise will, in most cases, lead to the eventual loss of the entire program. It’s not the school districts problem anymore!
Avoiding the Trap
Is there a way to avoid the trap? Absolutely. Here’s how:
Monitor Your School Budget Process - Assign someone from the community (it should not be the music teacher - preferably a parent) to attend the school board meetings and monitor the budget process. Many people do not follow the process until a budget is presented to the public. Many of the decisions impacting the budget are made during school board meetings, months in advance (starting now!). Having someone at these meetings provides an “early warning” system in case there are budget problems that could put the music program at risk.
Get Organized - Gather a group of concerned parents to be on alert to help support the program. This is key. Have this group set up an e-mail communication system to keep people informed. Being proactive in the budget process and in support of the music program is a much better position for parents instead of organizing as a reaction to a sudden crisis.
Do Not Let Music Get Isolated - Fight any effort to position the music program as a potential casualty of a failed budget vote. If cuts are going to be proposed, the district should focus on all non-child centered areas before suggesting cuts to core subjects. If they plan to show potential cuts, core subjects should be treated equally/fairly. No subject should be singled out. No subject should be left behind (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!)
Do Not Suggest Program Cuts - The last thing you want to do is to create a rift in the community by suggesting cuts to other programs. Advocate for your programs, not against someone else’s. You want to maintain your position of music as a core subject. Take the high road.
Avoid the Music or Math type of Comparison- Often, school officials will say, “We have to choose between music and math.” No - they don’t. The have chosen to make this comparison. In reality, this is a false dichotomy - an illusion of their making. They could just as easily make the choice between music and a new administrator. Or music and new stadium lights. Or music and the lunch program. By pretending the choice is between music and math, music or reading, music or science, the administrators are being disingenuous to the parents.
When All Else Fails Try to Pass the Budget - So you did your best but music ended up on the budget referendum chopping block. Your next option: try to pass the budget. At least if you are successful in passing the budget the game will end right here. Your program will be saved and you will live to fight another day
I’m In the Trap - How Do We Get Out?
Your ultimate goal here is to stay out of the trap. What do you do if the budget fails and you get the “If you can raise the money we will keep the music program” comment like our parent from Islip?
Nothing.
As any parent knows, you cannot reward bad behavior. By rushing in to let the school district off the hook for their bad behavior you are, in essence, rewarding them.
Now, if you really want to try to fund the program through donations then there is only one way to do this that will lead to a long-term benefit. Create a contract with the school district, the essence of which is: The community will provide temporary funding for the music program only if the school district acknowledges this program is part of the district’s responsibility and the funding will be rightfully restored to the budget over a defined period of time. Request the district put up some money the first year (say 10-25%), then 50% in the second year, then 100% the third year. The program will still need to be treated as part of the basic education and graded as any other subject and the teacher will need to be treated as an employee of the district (not the parents).
This now puts the community in partnership with the school district to help the district out of a budget bind, but also keeps them on the hook for what is their rightful responsibility: providing educational instruction for our children in core subjects.
A final note: In one school district in California the parents had been paying for the entire band program (teacher and all) through the local community foundation. Last fall the superintendent told the parents they could no longer pay for the music program and they were forced to turn over any funds raised for music to him. His reasoning? “I am responsible for setting the educational priorities of our district. I should be able to spend these funds to support my priorities. Music is not one of them.”
So, the program is now gone, the parents are out all the money they raised, and the children are denied the benefits of being involved with music.
When we allow our school districts to absolve themselves of providing music education as a core subject for all of our children- Nothing Good Ever Happens.
Do not let the Parent Trap Happen to you!
Posted by musicforall at 7:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
How you can help!
Help Wynton Help His Hometown!
Jazz great and music education ambassador Wynton Marsalis created the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Fund - which is managed by the Baton Rouge Community Foundation (since the New Orleans Community Foundation was washed away!) Wynton has been such a steadfast leader as an advocate for music education here is our opportunity to help him help his hometown and the surrounding areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
Wynton said “All New Orleanians need the nation to unite in a deafening crescendo of affirmation to silence that desperate cry that is this disaster. We need people with their prayers, their pocketbooks, and above all their sense of purpose to show the world just who the modern American is and then we'll put our city back together in even greater fashion.”
Your generous gift will provide the Baton Rouge Area Foundation the financial support to provide the victims of Hurricane Katrina with food, water, clothing, housing and medical support. These funds will also lend special assistance to the Crescent City's musicians who are the spirit of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz.
To make a donation go to: http://www.jalc.org/HigherGround/katrina_.asp
For Immediate Humanitarian Needs
The American Red Cross is responding to this unprecedented natural catastrophe and devoting every resource to this humanitarian relief effort. The American people can be confident the Red Cross is moving as fast as humanly possible and will spare no effort to meet the needs of tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors. We worked directly with the Red Cross following 9/11 and can attest to the great work they do for communities in need.
To make a donation go to: http://redcross.org
Here are a few more worthy efforts:
NAMM/Mr. Holland’s Opus Emergency Fund to Help Rebuild Music Programs
When the rescue efforts turn to rebuilding, NAMM - International Music Products Association will lead the way in an area near and dear to our hearts—getting musical instruments back into the hands of children. NAMM has set up a special fund with the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation to help rebuild the music programs in the affected areas and provide additional instruments to the surrounding states absorbing the displaced students. The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation did a great job supporting schools impacted by the hurricanes in 2004. They are uniquely qualified to lead the way in this particular effort.
To make your donation work twice as hard, NAMM will match your contributions dollar for dollar. To make a donation go to: http://www.mhopus.org/
Support for the Music Community Impacted by Hurricane
The Recording Academy, through MusiCares, has set up The MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund. This fund has been set up so music people impacted by Hurricane Katrina can get help. Assistance includes basic living expenses such as shelter, food, utilities, transportation; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills, medications; clothing; instrument and recording equipment replacement; relocation costs; school supplies for students; insurance payments and more.
To make a donation go to: http://www.grammy.com/musicares/
Curriculum Kit Helps Students Cope
The American Red Cross offers a curriculum kit, “Masters of Disaster,” that includes ready-to-go lesson plans for integrating disaster preparedness and safety instruction into standard academic classes K-8 with lessons on hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, lightning, and earthquakes. The curriculum is aligned with national and state education standards. MENC contributed to the program’s curriculum supplement entitled “Facing Fear: Helping Young People Deal with Terrorism and Tragic Events.”
Download lessons at http://www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/ or contact your local American Red Cross Chapter for the print version of “Masters of Disaster.”
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