The Three Pillars of a Great Music Program

Recruitment and Retention

Recruiting the maximum number of students for each program (orchestra, choir, and band) can and should be done cooperatively. The most successful programs are always strong in all three areas. This starts with a clear recruiting strategy that entices students and parents to participate. Fortunately, a number of fine resources are available.

String Clinics to Go: The Art of Recruiting by Phillips and Gillespie has helped teachers increase their starting numbers in significant ways over the last fifteen years. A new and incredibly exciting set of materials was unveiled last year by inspirational speaker Scott Lang. The series, Be Part of the Music, can be viewed at scottlang.net and bepartofthemusic. org.

You also can visit bepartoftheorchestra.org and bepartoftheband.com for discipline-specific information. Lang has created a complete set of recruiting materials that include videos, letters, and strategies. Be Part of the Choir will be released soon. Thousands of additional music students have been added nationally since the inception of this program two years ago.

Retaining students is an ongoing process that requires careful thought and planning. The first step is to know the exact dates students will be presented with registration materials for upcoming school years. In most high schools this occurs in January, with middle school following in February and elementary students in March.

It is critical that you present students with a comprehensive retention program in advance of the distribution of the general scheduling materials. Identify possible student issues–-such as schedule limitations, extra-curricular conflicts, and any other issues that prevent students from re-enrolling in music–-and offer proactive solutions.

Once this has been done it is extremely important to survey the students and use the data to help them make informed choices. I always asked students to indicate: yes, I am continuing; I am not sure; or no, I will not be continuing. The “undecided” responses offer a great opportunity for you to talk to students individually and find out what is preventing them from enrolling.

In my own career I asked students about my teaching, the atmosphere of the class, what they were learning, and anything thing else that I thought would help me to be a more effective teacher. I also would put their responses into different categories and record the results to see if I could discover any retention or drop-out patterns. Examples would be athletes versus non-athletes, economic status, ethnicity, gender, or college prep versus non-college prep.

I wanted to know if were there any specific populations that were dropping out disproportionately. If so, then I knew I needed to look at the program and my teaching. It could also point out a schedule problem or other community factors. Armed with this information, I could more intelligently guide students and help them continue in the program.

A High-Quality Music Environment

Building a comprehensive music program happens over time. The richer the musical offerings, the more places there are for students to find a musical home.

The most important factor, however, is high-quality teaching and musical leadership. Sometimes the fastest way to grow your program is to improve your knowledge base. I have been a teacher, clinician, and writer/composer for forty years and I am constantly trying learn new things and improve my skills. Summer teacher workshops, state music education conventions, mentorships, graduate programs, and the ASTA National Conference provide great opportunities for continued learning.

Education is a non-stop process for both students and teachers. Great music programs always have great leaders. Teachers who put students first and are constantly trying to improve the musical environment for the entire community increase the number of students involved.

Communication

The last pillar involves communicating the success and values of the music program to the school board, community, administrators, staff, parents, and students. Make sure you view every music performance as an opportunity to do just that.

Concerts can be informances as well as performances. Explain what you are doing and why. Have students talk about and reflect upon their experience. Have students play at board meetings and throughout the community at large. Be an artistic presence in your school area.

It is important to communicate with administrators and school boards. One very powerful way to do this is to create an annual “State of the Music Department” report. This type of report will speak volumes to both these groups, and was pioneered by music advocacy expert John Benham.

Benham's theory of reverse economics has saved hundreds of school music programs throughout the country. It suggests that music is often cheaper to teach than other disciplines because of our larger class sizes. More importantly it states that when you cut elementary programs, it does not save money but will ultimately cost more because of how it affects your middle school and high school numbers in subsequent years. For more information read Benham's book Music Advocacy and visit supportmusic.com.

When communicating with administrators, the most important data point is the per student cost of instruction versus other areas of the school. Below are some additional points to consider, based on Benham's work.

List honors and awards of students and faculty:

List and number of performances for each music ensemble:

List by ensemble or grade level:

Faculty – List data by ensemble, grade level, discipline:

Building a program happens by design. If the music staff works cooperatively with each other then everyone wins. It starts with recruiting and retention, is followed with great teaching and leadership, and finishes with clear communication to build a broader arts coalition.