Public Testimony by Jennifer Mohr
School Board Business Meeting
Beaverton School District Administration Building
September 24, 2012
To the School Board:
For over 4 years, district officials have attempted to reduce music programs at certain small elementary schools using the argument that this would create more “equity” of experience for students at schools of various size. The reasoning was that a school of 300 students “didn’t need as much” music/pe/library as a school with 800 students… yet all had been assigned one full-time music teacher, one full-time pe teacher, and one full-time media specialist.
Since our elementary schools in Beaverton have never actually met the nationally recommended minimum of 90 minutes of music instruction per week, my friends and I have always found it interesting that the district would see fit to balance programs by taking away from music staffing at small schools rather than adding to the large schools. Be that as it may, this year was billed as the year to create equity … to create a “school district” rather than a “district of schools.”
In your packet, you will find a copy of the draft schedules provided by the district during the budget process this spring. Tonight, I am here to report that these drafts have become a reality, and they expose an ugly truth: the drastic cuts to our music programs this summer have created even more disparity between the schools. While children at Bonny Slope see their music teacher for 45 minutes once every 8 days (and have a total of 21 music lessons for the year), children at my own school get music once every 6 days (total 30 lessons), children at Barnes get music once every 4 days (total 40 lessons), and children at Aloha-Huber Park get music twice every five days (total 70 lessons). This disparity is real at schools throughout the district, depending on school size.
Since children at Aloha Huber now have music for 45 minutes twice a week, they are finally meeting the nationally recommended minimums. When the district finally does decide to create equity, this should be done by bringing all schools up to the national minimums using a model like the one at Aloha Huber.
Also, please note that our curriculum is now vastly out of balance. During the 6-day specials rotation that is common at average-sized schools, children now sit behind a computer for their 45-minute “specials” twice as often as they have pe and twice as often as they have music. Of the 6 days in the rotation, children spend one day in the library, two at computers, one with the counselor, one at music and one at pe. Yes, the counselor is now used in the specials rotation at my school and at least 16 other elementary schools. She teaches “guidance lessons” to regular homeroom classes of 30+ students during 45 minute sessions all day and has only 45 minutes per day to actually do counseling. Last year, as an elementary counselor, she had over 4 hours a day to provide responsive services. All of these counselors are now down to 45 minutes per day. The dramatic changes at the elementary level have created unacceptable levels of imbalance and inequity and should be corrected immediately.
Jennifer Mohr
Music Teacher
Cooper Mountain and Fir Grove