I am the band director of a school that is nestled in a culturally rich neighborhood of many races and cultures in NYC. Our school services grades 6 – 12. The subject that I teach is music. The music classes that are offered at school are General Music (required for graduation), Beginning Winds, and Advanced Band.
We are looking to establish a program to start students at the middle school level in order to cultivate talent and hopefully retain students when moving on to high school. We can say that we are on the right track in that we hired a middle school music teacher to expand our program and expose our middle school students to the joys of music and its positives at multiple levels: academic, social, and personal. The above is a telling step in that our school is ‘small’ in comparison to New York City standards; our school houses 850 students from grades 6-12.
I would say that optimism is the true success of our flourishing program but there are clear obstacles. As Kahlil Gibran said, “The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose.” This above is my motto. In fact, since my appointment at school this has been a quote that has gotten me through difficult times but unfortunately did not rid our school and music program from its hurtles both financial and spatial. Financial obstacles have forever haunted the arts. In the back of any band director's mind is will the program survive another school year. Progress is clear through our success and the students' growth. After all, they are the reason for all our efforts.
The second obstacle is the facility itself. Being a small school space is a reoccurring issue and serves as a double edged sword. Presently, 11% of the high school population is involved in instrumental music but a constant hindrance is room. There is one music room that serves all the students including general music classes so it is imperative to put thought into how to store music, supplies, and music equipment.
The resource we are looking for is a Digital Recording. In a growing music program we are now traveling and performing at multiple music festivals and venues. Key aspects in learning music are tri-fold: production, perception, and reflection. In order to truly accomplish, we need a digital recorder. The reflective process when listening to rehearsals or performances of concert programs is telling and fruitful.
Through consideration and fulfillment of this proposal you have the chance to make the musical experience more productive. You will offer a tool that will enhance the quality of our performance level at an individual, sectional, and ensemble level.
This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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