Remember how challenging remote learning was in 2020 and 2021? Have we blocked it all out? It’s been good to find some normalcy post-COVID but we know things will never be the same as before. And we don’t want it to be the same – we want things to get better, especially for our kids.
Music and the performing arts were some of the hardest hit classes during the pandemic. Schools were closed and classes were moved online. While none of it was easy, being able to learn and play music at home, over a computer, was pretty miserable for students and teachers alike.
I watched my son struggle with it – he hated it. He lost interest because he couldn’t get the finger positions right or couldn’t keep time with others through Zoom. The connections that are so vital to music were missing – learning from each other, laughing, being vulnerable, sharing, and being creative together. These disconnects were evident in enrollment numbers during COVID and that gap impacted music enrollment even as schools opened back up.
Three years after the pandemic, we’re seeing music enrollment numbers soar back to pre-COVID levels. Just as recovery was starting to feel manageable, our district was hit with budget cuts that knocked us back down again in 2023-24. Let’s take a look at the numbers specific to 5th & 6th grade band and orchestra.
This year’s enrollment in 5th & 6th grade ensembles is higher than 2019-2020 numbers, 2,318 versus 2,312. These numbers are predicted to be higher than 2018-2019 numbers (2,355) for 2024-25 based on current enrollment rates. The data tells us that kids want the option to join ensembles in 5th & 6th grade. Ensembles matter!
Let’s take a look at a few more numbers that matter. Recent results of the ESD Balancing Act indicate that 5th & 6th grade ensembles are critically important to our community. Of the 1,073 submissions of the exercise, only 37.4% of respondents indicated they would eliminate both band and orchestra for 5th & 6th grade.
I’ve heard some counterpoints around a minimal impact to music because elementary still has general music requirements. Let’s be clear, general music is not instrumental music. That’s like saying P.E. is equivalent to playing on the soccer, softball, or golf team. It’s not. We need both.
We have data and numbers, we have survey feedback, we have stories and letters from families, we have 5th and 6th graders speaking in front of the school board – all indicating the essential need to have music education for our students.
How do we get those in power to listen?
Find the data, numbers and stories that speak to and for you, and let our principals, school board, and state representatives know what your student’s need. They must figure out how to fund our districts properly. Check out our Save the Music page for more ways to have your voice heard.
–Carolyn Harvey, MTHS Music Boosters President
