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What Are the Goals of Music Matters?

Awareness, Advocacy, Support and Education!

Awareness: 

Raise overall awareness of the successes and challenges facing the performing arts programs at Henley Middle School and Western Albemarle High School; discuss how county-wide scheduling, staffing and funding decisions impact these programs.

Advocate:

It’s time to instill a vibrant performing arts culture into our children’s academic future. This means building and sustaining outstanding public school band, choir, and orchestra programs. In order to do this, we must each take an active role in expanding performing arts programs in Albemarle County Public Schools by lobbying decision makers, attending School Board Meetings, discussing concerns with School Principals, writing a letter to the editor, emailing your friends and asking them to join this cause.

Together we must advocate that County education officials take the following actions:

  • Build music into the core curriculum, requiring that every middle school student take one full year of music prior to graduation
  • Revise the current Middle School double block schedule which, through its increased use of daily 90-minute classes, has reduced the number of electives students can take
  • Fund individual music teachers in each of the specialty areas of choir, band and orchestra for each middle and high school
  • Promote school principals to set concrete goals and benchmarks for building up fledging music programs and maintaining strong music programs in each of their schools
Hold the County School Board and Superintendent of Instruction accountable for providing structures, funding and systems that enable our schools to provide excellent music instruction to all students

Support:

Encourage students to enroll in music programs, especially as they rise to 6th grade in Middle School; Support student participation in music throughout their secondary school education; Attend student concerts and performances, Volunteer in the performing arts programs (usher, file music, choreograph for the musical, etc.), Share your music with students – be a part of building a culture that celebrates the arts!!

Educate:

Learn and share information about the importance of music education! 

Read articles on how music affects student learning, share information on innovative music programs, review course offering and scheduling decisions at each school, share your passion for music and/or talents in performing arts with children.

 

What is Music Matters?

Music Matters is a grassroots advocacy group for the performing arts programs for the western feeder schools of Albemarle County. It was organized in winter of 2009 by a group of parents and community members whose goal is to grow the music programs and support for the performing arts ensembles at Henley Middle School and Western Albemarle High School (WAHS).

How Did It Start:

In early 2009, parents collectively expressed concerns with some of the performing arts programs in the western feeder pattern schools. Concerns included the:

  • Inconsistent offerings and strengths of music programs within the Albemarle County School system (i.e. WAHS students have the option of enrolling in a single choir – which has a current enrollment of 15 students, while Albemarle High School students have a comprehensive choral program of seven choirs – which cumulatively enrolls 170 students.)
  • Lack of full choral program offerings at Henley and WAHS
  • Combination of WAHS’s band and choir positions
  • Retirement of Henley’s long time band and choir faculty members and concern for their two positions being combined as one (UPDATE: We are pleased to report that two music faculty members were hired in summer 2009 to fill the band and choral vacancies.)
  • Replacement of full-time music faculty with part-time music faculty
  • Requirements for music faculty to teach outside of their areas of expertise
  • Scheduling that limits students’ ability to enroll in music programs
  • Music programs only offered during the zero hour and without transportation accommodations
  • Decline of enrollment in music programs (UPDATE: The number of students enrolled in the orchestra at WAHS has grown consistently over the past two years and the number of students involved is close to 30. Additionally, the Henley orchestra teacher reported the largest 6th grade orchestra enrollment in recent years).

Parents also expressed a strong desire for their public schools to educate the “whole child” by including music as a part of a balanced education.

Additionally, parents questioned the overall benefits, effectiveness, and trade-offs of daily 90-minute classes. Particularly concerning was the realization that students in the lowest academic tiers at Henley Middle School have no exposure to the school’s music opportunities (or other electives) because of there courses are predetermined. Many felt strongly that given Henley and WAHS’s unique single-feeder pattern, these two schools must build interlocking goals and programs to ensure the vibrancy of the arts.

Individuals who shared these concerns were invited to join an email list (via musicmatters.westernalbemarle@gmail.com). A subgroup was asked to serve as the Advisory/Planning group for Music Matters. The planning group has approximately 20 members while the email list has approximately 150 members. Members of the advisory group have met with county administrators, school board members, school principals, and music teachers in both city and county schools.

Music Matters’ mission is to create a school environment that embraces, celebrates, and grows music and performing arts at Henley and WAHS. Music Matters advocates believe that all students, regardless of the particular county school they attend, should have access to “world class” comprehensive performing arts programs.

Although our focus is on the western feeder schools, what our mission advocates could be applied countywide. As such, Music Matters calls upon the larger Charlottesville community to voice and show support for all performing arts programs. Whether a community member is a resident of Charlottesville or Albemarle County, and whether their household has a school-age student or not, the improvement of the performing arts at any school enhances the overall experience for residents of our greater Charlottesville area. District and state competitions and ensembles are enhanced, interest and attendance in community arts programs expands, and the ability to share music and art between all citizens grows.

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