North Palm Beach Elementary School The Best Place To Learn Under the Sun Instrumental Music Program Proposal for an Instrumental Music Program PBCSD
North Palm Beach Elementary School Instrumental Music Program Concept: Music works its magic simply by making school more enjoyable! However, there are also sound research findings that show the infusion of music into an elementary school program will not only increase academic performance, but will increase a student s connection to his or her school community, practiced discipline in academic studies, their ability to communicate effectively, and more. Here are just a few of the research findings demonstrating the positive effects of a strong music program: The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989 Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. College- Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades. NELS: 88 First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills. National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990 "The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling--training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression." Ratey John J., MD. A User's Guide to the Brain. New York: Pantheon Books, 2001. In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill tests than those who did not receive music training. Rauscher, F.H., and Zupan, M.A. (1999). Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field study. Manuscript in press, Early Childhood Research Quarterly. "Music is one way for young people to connect with themselves, but it is also a bridge for connecting with others. Through music, we can introduce children to the richness and diversity of the human family and to the myriad rhythms of life." Daniel A. Carp, Eastman Kodak Company Chairman and CEO. "Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let's not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it!" Michael Greene, Recording Academy President and CEO at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, February 2000. From The National Association for Music Education "Benefits of Music Education", Spring 2002".
Music Program Objectives: By June of 2012, Reading Running Record data on students participating in the Instrumental Music program at North Palm Beach Elementary School will show an increase of 10 percent in the number of students reading on grade level in grades 2-5. By June of 2012, FCAT & FCAT Diagnostic Mathematics data on students participating in the Instrumental Music program at North Palm Beach Elementary School will show an increase of 10 percent in the number of students doing mathematics at grade level in grades 2-5. By June of 2012, student discipline as measured by discipline referrals written and number of students suspended will decrease by 5 percent for students in grades K-5. By June of 2012, absenteeism will decrease by 2 percent for all demographic groups. By June of 2012, post-project interviews with students, faculty and parents will reveal an increase in music integration activities on the NPBES campus, an increase in participation of students and families in community music events and a positive reflection of those experiences. Instrumental Music Curriculum Project Timeline: August 2010 August 2012 August 2010 Proposal to go before North Palm Beach Elementary School Faculty for inclusion in the School Improvement Plan for FY11 accepted by faculty Proposal to go before North Palm Beach Elementary School Advisory Council for inclusion in the School Improvement Plan accepted by SAC Chairperson September 2010 Gather baseline project data: Reading Running Records K-4 Mathematics FCAT Diagnostic scores for 2-4 Discipline Data for K-4 Attendance Data for K-4 Student musical involvement Interviews Pre-project Teacher musical involvement Interviews Pre-project Parent musical involvement Interviews Pre-project Parent meeting for students in Kindergarten and First Grade Violin Program overview and Parent Responsibilities Instruments to be ordered for program start in October 2010 Interview and select Band/Instrumental Artist in Residence (from Title I school budget) October/November 2010 Kindergarten and First Grade Students to begin Violin Instruction Weekly provided by music teacher on staff Parents and families participate in Family Lesson Share experiences in the music classroom during violin instruction Orff Instrument instruction to begin K-5 Regular NPBES music teacher to continue Orff training Recorder Instruction to begin in Second through Fourth Grades (parents and PTA to fund recorder costs) Hand Bell Choir to be offered as an after-school club
December/January 2011 December Carpet Concert for Violin held for parents and community Instrumental Music Artist in Residence to begin All instrument purchases complete Parent meeting for students in Fourth Grade Instrumental Program overview and Parent Responsibilities Students in Grade 4 to begin Instrumental Music/Band Instruction with Artist in Residence Sectional work twice per week/full band practice once per week January through June 2011 Continue with Violin Instruction for K and 1st grades Continue with Orff instruction K-5 Continue with Band Instruction grade 4 Informance Presentations for intermediate student families and community once per trimester Carpet Concert s for primary student families and community once per trimester Parents and families participate in Family Lesson Share experiences in the music classroom during violin and band instruction August December 2011 Begin violin instruction for students in K-2, expanding to second grade Continue violin instruction for students participating in FY11, currently in 1st and 2nd grades Continue Band instruction with students who began in FY11, currently in 5th grade Continue Recorder instruction in Second through Fourth Grades (parents and PTA to fund recorder costs) Hand Bell Choir to be offered as an after-school club Orff Instruction PreK- 5 (Pre-Kindergarten program proposed to begin in FY12) Gather Data: Reading Running Records K-5 Mathematics FCAT Diagnostic scores for 2-5 Discipline Data for K-5 Attendance Data for K-5 January - June 2012 Continue with Violin Instruction for K and 2nd grades Continue with Orff instruction Pre-K-5 Continue with Band Instruction grade 5 Begin Band Instruction with new 4th grade students Parent meeting for new band students in Fourth Grade Instrumental Program overview and Parent Responsibilities Informance Presentations for intermediate student families and community once per trimester Carpet Concert s for primary student families and community once per trimester Parents and families participate in Family Lesson Share experiences in the music classroom during violin and band instruction April 2012 - Accept students into NPBES Instrumental Music Program to begin in August 2012 Gather final program Data: Reading Running Records K-5 Mathematics FCAT Diagnostic scores for 2-5 Discipline Data for K-5 Attendance Data for K-5 Student musical involvement Interviews Post-project Teacher musical involvement Interviews Post-project Parent musical involvement Interviews Post-project
North Palm Beach Elementary School Instrumental Music Program Music Curriculum Format: Pre-Kindergarten First Grade Orff Instrumentation instruction & Violin Instruction 2 nd and 3 rd Grades Orff Instrumentation, Violin instruction & Recorder Instruction 4 th Grade Orff Instrumentation, Violin instruction & Recorder instruction Instrumental instruction second semester of 4 th grade; Hand bells Continued Violin Beginning Band 5 th Grade Orff Instrumentation, Violin, Hand Bells & Band Professional Guidance and support for NPBE Instrumental Music Program: Cleve Maloon Band Director for Bak Middle School of the Arts Dr. Tom Pearson K-12 Arts Education Programmer, PBCSD Band Programmatic Needs: Instruments needs: 3 Flutes $150 @ $ 450 2 Oboes $1025 @ 2,050 5 Clarinets $150 @ 750 4 Trumpets $125 @ 500 4 Trombones $125 @ 500 2 Saxophones $450 @ 900 2 Baritones $995 @ 1,990 2 Tubas $1795 @ 3,590 2 French Horns $994 @ 1,988 2 Percussion (Bell Kits) $100 @ 200 42 ½, ¼, ¾ size violins $ 75 @ 3,150 Full Set of Orff instruments for the school $10,000 $2,500 for incidental instrument needs including music stands, reeds, strings, etc. Total Instrumental needs: $28,568
Instructor Needs: 1 full time general music teacher, provided by regular school funding Tammy Rawls Ms. Rawls has a music degree from Bethune-Cookman College, and is a flute player. She was on the board of The Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches and played in the flute section of that body. She includes Chorus and World Drumming in her general music classes as well as the program elements listed below. Ms. Rawls curriculum: Orff instruction for Pre-K-5 English Flute/Recorder instruction 2 nd 4 th grades Flute & Oboe small group tutorial instruction, 4 th and 5 th grades Clarinet small group tutorial Violin for K and 1 st grades Hand Bells for 4 th and 5 th Arts Integration support for general education teachers 1 Instrumental/Band Artist in Residence Funded through Title I school funding to support academic growth in the area of mathematics, Artist TBA Small group tutorials: Trumpets & French Horns Tuba Baritone and Trombone Saxophones In addition to a weekly, full Band practice Violin Programmatic Needs: 1 Violin Artist-in-Residence, grant funded/ (General Music teacher, Tammy Rawls, to also instruct violin) Provide violin instruction for K 5 students Full year Artist in Residence Cost: $7,000
Parent Involvement Component: Several opportunities for parent participation in the Instrumental Music program will be offered at each grade level. Primary Grades: Carpet Concerts will provide families with informal and impromptu opportunities to watch their child growing in musical abilities. These concerts will be held to provide students with a performance time to share new learning and creations developed with the new skills. Intermediate Grades: Informances will provide families with informal visits to the classroom as demonstrations of learning are taking place. Families will have opportunities to observe or participate in the work as they choose. These shared activities strengthen the connection families have with the school and with their child s learning experiences. Formal performances and look what we can do days will be included in the school calendar. The performance aspect is important in providing a goal of successful public performance for the young musicians to reach toward. Family Lesson Share Finally, families will be expected to participate in periodic lessons along with their child. The goal is to have someone of importance in the child s life to come to the school center to participate in a music lesson, as the child participates and learns. Shared experiences, understanding the work, supporting practice at home, and the pure joy of learning with your child are the goals of this program objective.
Why We Teach Music Music is a science. It is exact, specific; and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor's full score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time. Music is mathematical. It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper. Music is a foreign language. Most of the terms are in Italian, German or French; and the notation is certainly not English but a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language. Music is history. Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creation, often even the country and/ or racial feeling. Music is physical education. It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets. Music is all these things, but most of all, music is art. It allows a human being to take all of these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. That is one thing science cannot duplicate; humanism, feeling, emotion, call it what you will. That is why we teach music. Not because we expect our students to major in music Not because we expect them to play or sing all their life Not so they can relax Not so they can have fun. But so they will be human So they will recognize beauty So they will be sensitive So they will be closer to an infinite beyond this world So they will have something to cling to So they will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good - - in short, more life. Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live? That is why we teach music. Author Unknown