Monday, April 17 – Meeting with Mountlake Terrace High School Principal
Join us at 6pm in the Mountlake Terrace High School Theater to meet with Principal Greg Schellenberg.
From Darin Faul – a personal request
If you’re familiar with the band program at MTHS you know I’ve asked a lot of you through the years! Money, attendance, support, practice, effort, etc. My requests have been almost entirely for the students and for the program. This is different. I’m asking you to show up for me.
And if you know me at all, you know this makes me extremely uncomfortable.
Two of my five classes of band are to be cut next year. It’s a numbers issue. My numbers are low and do not support an average of 30 kids per class the district is pushing. I don’t know that I/we can win that battle if they think only of the numbers of kids in the seats. They are low for a number of reasons, the primary reason being the pandemic. Numbers are better next year than this year and the future numbers look to be even better based on the middle school numbers. We just need more time to recover.
Our parents and students are advocating at the district level against cuts to staff generally and especially against cuts to arts programs through attendance at the board meeting Tuesday, letter writing, awareness building and advocacy.
As we’ve been working on all of the district level stuff this week, I didn’t think too much about myself. However, what I tried to not think about is now front and center. Perhaps the reality of it took a few days to sink in. Perhaps it was receiving my “surplus notification” last night. Whatever the case, it hit me now.
Anyway, I fear the only thing that can change this is folks stepping up on my behalf to make a case that I am worth keeping: as a teacher, as a leader of the bands, as the builder and now rebuilder of the program post-covid. As the person who hopefully brought something to you and your family that was special, unique, transformative, magical, etc. What it meant to you is not for me to say… But it seems the time is now for you to share that I’m worth keeping full time for future students in our community. That I am the one that needs to keep this program going, full-time, in one building. That what we have in fact DOES stand out in many ways from a typical high school band experience and certainly a typical high school experience without band.
I hate to ask it but I’m asking it. Can you please show up on Monday, April 17th, at 6pm to show your support? To try to stop these cuts? To help the principal have the courage and wisdom to implement the creative solution out of this numbers mess that I presented to him that would keep me on full time?
The principal has only been here about 5 years, the last three of which were impacted by Covid. He doesn’t get what so many of you get. Your attendance would make a big impact. He will share with us the financial challenges he is facing. And then we will share with him. I’ve reached out to some “outside” folks inviting them to share their perspective on MTHS Bands and I hope to provide an opportunity for additional people to share as well. Mountlake Terrace High School Theater, 6pm Monday Night.
