Board doesn’t listen to the music

Martha Wallin Redinger Albemarle County
Published: June 24, 2008

What a disappointing decision made by the Albemarle School Board. The strings program has been undercut. One hundred thirty-eight thousand dollars was robbed from the String Orchestra Initiative, which was begun ap-proximately 10 years ago in exchange for $168,000 for the planning of the math and specialty centers and the Inter-national Baccalaureate initiative. 

These new, very expensive initiatives will appeal, primarily, to the most academic students but will be available only in some schools. On the other hand, instrumental music can and should be offered to all students with all abilities in every school. In fact, it sometimes is the most important course of study for a student searching for a career. Imagine if not enough kids had signed up for strings in

Charlottesville the first year that Boyd Tinsley, now of the Dave Matthews Band, enrolled.

The strings program never had the full commitment that one would expect. For example, the only class that is offered presently at Western Albemarle High School is a “before school” class. One can surmise that this affects enrollment. Since the School Board is basing funding on enrollment figures, let’s just be honest.

It is poor planning that, with each new administration, new initiatives are introduced without fully supporting the ones already adopted. This is expensive as well for the taxpayer and unfair to the students. It is also a reflection of a poor educational philosophy that does not emphasize the arts or require at least one full year of chorus, band or strings in middle school. In fact, if we really want to emphasize an “international” or “world-class” education, we would make sure that students were able to identify orchestral instruments and have some exposure to them, or be able to read a sheet of music.

I recommend that the School Board reinvest in the strings program already begun, the kind of program that is available in any “world-class” school. The administration should make a meaningful commitment to strings, including staff development, benefits and salary, and make more commitment to requirements in middle school, with a class offered during the regular school day for all middle and high school students.