Marching bands taking steps to survive
Academics, budgets target marching bands
Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 8, 2006
The marching band at Carl Hayden High school is made up of just 17 young
musicians, not enough to spell out the school's name on a football
field, even one letter at a time.
Some marching bands such as the one at Carl Hayden are shrinking, mostly
in inner-city and rural areas. But band supporters are beginning to
notice a decline even in the suburbs, where it has less of an impact
because the bands are large to start with.
The pool of teenagers eager to join marching band has never been huge,
particularly in Arizona, where practices often are held before sunrise
because it's so hot and marching in a wool uniform has little appeal for
all but the most dedicated band members.
Over the years, marching bands and music programs in general have
battled budget cuts and other factors to stay vibrant in the schools.
The newest attack on their numbers comes from the pressure on schools to
raise test scores, music teachers and experts say.
There are no state figures for how many schoolchildren are in music to
track whether their numbers are declining, though many music teachers
say they are. The Arizona Department of Education plans to do a survey
of schools this fall to get an exact number.
In recent years, state and federal mandates have schools scrambling to
raise test scores or risk being labeled as failing.
How kids fare in music or the arts in general doesn't figure into school
ratings, says Jeff Bush, an Arizona State University music professor and
president of the Arizona Music Educators Association board.
In hopes of raising scores, educators add reading and math, crowding
electives out of students' schedules. Some push band and orchestra to
before or after school.
By the time kids get to high school, Bush says, there are fewer
musicians: "It's a trickle-up effect. Whatever happens at the elementary
school trickles up to the middle school and trickles up to the high school."
That was never the intention of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
2001, which tracks student progress using test scores. In Arizona, the
arts are part of the state's standards for education.
State schools chief Tom Horne says he believes the arts should be
offered during school.
Shifting programs to before or after school can kill them, says Lynn
Tuttle, arts education specialist at the Arizona Department of
Education. Students often can't get rides to school early or stay late
if they play sports or care for siblings.
Building of a band
Gary Anderson is the new band director at Carl Hayden. He has been
teaching for 29 years, 16 in Arizona. He has a reputation for rebuilding
waning bands.
At Central High in 2003, there were 28 students in band. Three years
later, under Anderson's direction, there were more than 100. He built
the marching band at North Canyon High in Paradise Valley from 38
students to more than 100 in two years.
"I like digging into something that needs fixing, with whatever
expertise I can offer," he says, easing onto a bench on the sideline.
What the Carl Hayden High band lacks in size, it makes up in dedication
and determination. At band camp this summer, the 17 teenagers, up two
from the day before, are lined up in a grassy field, with no instruments
in their arms, to practice marching.
"Everybody's getting a little sloppy," Anderson says into a bullhorn.
"Take a break. Get a little water."
They've been here since 8 a.m. They'll stay through noon for a week
before school starts.
Anderson figures he'll get more students now that school's in session.
During the summer, he says, "Some work during the day that need the
jobs. They may be helping with putting food on the table."
A school of 2,300 students should be able to field a decent-sized band.
He'll forge relationships with nearby junior highs to recruit for next year.
Ideally, Anderson would like 50 and eventually 100 members. It can take
years to build a solid marching band program.
Why band size shrinks
Music programs were subsiding before No Child Left Behind, educators
say, mostly because of budget cuts. The arts often are seen as luxuries
when money is tight.
Other reasons marching bands wane in size vary, like at Peoria High
where the band is smaller because of the opening of a new high school
nearby, or a shortage of music teachers.
Also, the arts often don't count as honors classes for students trying
to beef up their grade-point averages.
Fielding decent-sized bands is tougher in some areas, such as the
Phoenix Union High School District, which includes Carl Hayden, because
it depends on 13 elementary districts for students, Tuttle says.
Some of the strongest music programs are in Mesa and Paradise Valley,
where the districts serve students in kindergarten through high school,
and it's easier to align curriculum and transition kids into high school
programs.
Still, Bush and others say, the pressure to raise test scores isn't
helping any.
At Gilbert High School, the marching band numbers 126, about the same as
last year but smaller than in previous years.
A newly required reading class in junior high has meant that more kids
have dropped band, says Linda Richards, president of the parent group
Gilbert Band Boosters.
Anderson worries there will come a day that there's no band to play at
high school football games and, from there, fewer children studying
music in college and playing as adults. That would be a shame, he says,
because music is good for a person.
Many kids thrive in band
The arts and academics are not exclusive, Tuttle says. Tempe Preparatory
Academy and Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix have strong academic
and arts programs.
Research has shown that students in music often score better on
standardized tests, including college entrance exams. For some kids,
Anderson says, music may be the only thing that keeps them in school.
At Carl Hayden, he watches the students march in step, counting out loud.
"Come on, guys. Louder," shouts Rudy Urquiza, 16, one of three students
who will rotate as drum major. He plays trumpet.
"It's a very inexperienced sounding group, but there's playing ability
there," Anderson says. "All you have to do is give them what they're
able to play and then teach the heck out of 'em."
Courtneyrose Hofstede, 17, says everyone has to work twice as hard when
a band is small. Any playing error or misstep gets noticed. She plays
baritone horn and trombone.
With so few members, the band won't blow the house down, Anderson
promises, but they'll be "darn good."
"I'm very proud of what you have done today," Anderson tells his band at
the end of practice.
"I'm starting to see some pride come out in you guys."
They grin, all 17 of them, and Rudy shouts, "Band dismissed!"
SOURCE: http://www.azcentral.com/
