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Annual Town Meeting - May 19
(Note: The post below is from Karen Drane, member of Everyone for Norton as well as a parent to a 9th grade band student) - Posted to Facebook, August 31, 2024
Hey everyone. The video from this week’s school committee meeting is up on YouTube.
It was a super busy night with the Yelle open house and the NMS 6th grade open house, so I know many people were not able to attend.
Several people went to speak about the middle school band/chorus, including myself. Part of my comment was related to comparable and neighboring schools and what they offer for band. Below you can see a little chart to show that info. *Disclaimer: this is what I found in my research. I encourage people to do their own. And if anyone can find a school district successfully doing an after-school club model, I’d love to know*
As you can see, ALL OF OUR comparable and neighboring schools offer band during the school day and ALL offer band starting in Middle School. How can Norton say that we are offering a comparable and competitive education for our students when we don’t have a thriving band and chorus program (and no middle school art)?
I mentioned in my comments that Attleboro middle schools do band as a music class, with students choosing band or general music. While this would mean a complete change to NMS schedule, it would be worth exploring as a viable option. The afterschool model being suggested by the school committee and district, will not work.
I am concerned (and I know I am not alone) that IF they can even get this after-school band/chorus as an option, it will be difficult for students to attend, at all or consistently, given other clubs, sports, commitments during the week. And that in a mere 1-2 years, there will be NO BAND at all at NPS!!! 4th and 5th grade band is already cut. Middle school is maybe moving to a club. The HS band’s numbers are already low and as seniors graduate, there will be less and less 9th graders coming in.
My daughter, as a 9th grade band student, is one of the lucky ones. She started band in 4th GRADE and had band, as a class, all through middle school. She had World Language in 7th and 8th! She had art all three years of middle school. If you have a student at NPS that is younger than 9th grade, just know that they will NOT have the same opportunities as my 9th grader. What gets cut next?
The arts are always cut first. It’s such a cliche that it’s laughable. Except it's really not funny as it’s our students that suffer the consequences.
The arts are an integral part of education. If you agree, will you join with other concerned parents and community members to urge the school committee, who sets the priorities for where funding goes, to explain how they plan to restore, support, and sustain these vital programs moving forward?
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