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Tremendous News for BSD Music Programs!

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This week, Superintendent Don Grotting selected the new schedule that will be implemented at all neighborhood middle schools starting next fall for the 2021-22 school year, and it’s a PE + 2 Electives schedule! 

This is a huge step toward what we — the students, teachers, parents, and community members of BFoM — have been advocating for several years.  The plan provides much better predictability about course offerings and class length (they’ll be the same across the district), and it has the flexibility to give students multiple electives and real choices about the direction of their education, even if they are involved in AVID or special services like SPED or ELL.  

The announcement does not specifically say students will have guaranteed access to at least one year-long daily elective, which is what our 2019 Petition called for — and remains our bottom line — but it provides a strong framework for that outcome.  We’ll be reaching out to district administrators after Thanksgiving break for clarification on whether all students will indeed have access to at least one year-long daily elective.  If that is the case, we can celebrate that students will no longer be forced to forfeit exploring new subjects in order to also have a deep, sequential experience in at least one of their electives.  It will be a boon for students’ experience overall, and offer a path for more students to participate in music.  

Based on our analysis of the schedule presented, greater flexibility is being achieved by shortening the length of each period and adding more slots in the day to cover math, science, language arts, social studies, PE, and two electives.  The subjects of science and math are still favored with an additional period on alternate days, and the overall balance of the schedule is much better than in the past.

The shortened period length is certainly a challenge.  We had hoped the district would be able to adopt a schedule that kept lessons in the 45-60min range; 42-minutes is short for music rehearsals with beginners, but we expect that it will be a daily class instead of an every-other-day class, and we hope the fact that more students will have access to the class will make up for the shorter period. All along in this process, we knew compromises would have to be made to arrive at the best solution with so many important scheduling objectives to try to fit in.  While this schedule wasn’t our first choice on the list that BSD surveyed this spring, we believe it can be a solution to the persistent inequity and insecurity that has dogged our feeder music programs for so many years. Over time, it has the potential to build robust participation that benefits the high school music programs as well, and students will finally be able to reap the benefits promised by sustained participation in a serious arts program as part of a complete educational experience.

(This might go without saying, but to be absolutely clear, the new schedule isn’t expected to take effect until we’re back to regular in-person school; right now BSD schools are still navigating the pandemic, so things may look different until that resolves.)

Achieving these program quality improvements absolutely hinges on the implementation of the schedule.  Each of the eight comprehensive middle schools will be making some kind of transition next fall in order to comply, but with site-based management having been the rule for so many years, this is something we’ll need to watch carefully. It would be a shame if central administration announced a new district-wide policy only to have it circumvented by individual building choices. For example, a school choosing to not offer daily full year band/choir within this structure would not meet our objective of an equitable quality arts experience as part of a comprehensive education. We will all need to remain engaged to hold administration to their promises.

Now that you know a little more about what’s at stake in the new schedule, let’s talk about what this means for us—the Friends of Music. This week’s BSD announcement begins with a brief history of the Common Middle School Experience (CME) that began in 2014. Let’s remember this was the year after BFoM hired John Benham to publish a comprehensive report on the status of our music programs, and also shortly after the BSD Music Task Force of 2014 presented its final report to the school board (you can read the report attached to this page). It was also the same year BSD brought equity to the elementary school level by normalizing access to music and PE class at 90-minutes per week, the first step in implementing Music Task Force recommendations to rebuild our district music programs from the bottom up with an emphasis on equity. The BSD effort to create a common bell schedule for middle schools was a natural next step after BFoM and the Music Task Force highlighted the inequities being experienced by students in our schools.  

It has taken six years for the BSD to come to this decision. BFoM helped instigate the conversation and has been pushing for it every step of the way. Even when it looked like we were losing ground, we never gave up. Through these years, principals continued to exercise unilateral control over elective programming in middle schools, leading to draconian music cuts in 2015 and again in 2019. Both of those incidents induced a strong response from the BFoM community with petitions and media attention. We continued to pressure decision-makers with testimony at monthly board meetings and by developing relationships with board members and administrators in regular 1-1 conversations.  We reached out to educate our friends and colleagues, and we worked with Fine Arts TOSA, Blake Allen, to stay up to date on the status of programs at schools across the district. As more members joined our organization, we worked to build unity across the district. We researched the root issues and developed proposals for resolving them.  

All of this work has culminated in a School Board and district leadership that was finally ready to start a new chapter this year. These new policies are really significant because it’s been about two decades since the district has provided sequence, choice, and variety in electives along with consistency in every building.

Of particular importance in bringing about these changes was the work of BSD Administrator for Middle Schools, Ken Struckmeier, and also that of Matt Casteel, who held the position prior to Ken. Both administrators, along with Deputy Superintendent Ginny Hansmann and Superintendent Grotting, engaged in productive ongoing discussion with our outreach team and were receptive to suggestions. 

Huge shifts in a district of this size don’t happen by chance.  They are developed by constituents who are informed and active in shaping the values of their district.  This week’s announcement is a key example of how BFoM has generated effective advocacy, and reminds us once again of the value of tenacity in our work. Thank you for being part of this winning team!

As we all celebrate the fruits of our collective labor, BFoM leadership has two important things to ask of you: 

1) Step up (or stay on) as a BFoM representative for your school. You’ll attend occasional BFoM meetings and coordinate with the music teacher at your school.  We’ll need you to be our eyes and ears watching the implementation of the new middle school schedule to ensure it’s done as published and to see whether it promotes the program quality improvements we seek. Elementary and high school reps will help ensure strong communication to our parent communities as children transition to and from middle school. 

2) Make plans to attend our virtual BFoM meeting on Tuesday Dec. 1st at 6:30-7:30pm (we’ll send you the Zoom invite if you write to beavertonfriendsofmusic@gmail.com with your name and the BSD school you’re near).  There are important opportunities on the horizon and we need our district-wide coalition to shape the plan.  

Applause and three cheers!  We hope to see you all soon.    

Analysis of Proposed Middle School Schedules

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The BSD has released its proposal for a common middle school experience. Rationale, timeline, and proposed schedules are posted on the BSD website and Beaverton Friends of Music has been reviewing them closely.  There’s a lot to be excited about here and it’s time for some family involvement!  Please read the talking points below and attend the following meeting to lend your support:

 BSD Middle School Family Listening & Learning Sessions for Common Middle Experience 
***Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.***

(at every BSD middle school on the same night)

At least two of the four proposed schedules include PE + 2 Electives Everyday and would represent a huge step for the status of music education in our district — as well as equity for all students in general.  If implemented, all middle schools would finally have *both* band and choir offered, and there would be more daily elective classes.

The district’s listening session invitation was sent to all middle school families, but the meeting title does not exclude anyone from attending.  Our entire community depends on the quality of education provided in our pubic schools.  Please do make plans to attend even if you do not currently have a middle schooler in your family.  Elementary parents definitely have a stake in the upcoming decisions because their children are headed to middle school, and high school families have a stake too, because our middle school bands and choirs feed the high school programs.

On February 6th at a middle school near you, the district promises the “chance to learn more about the BSD’s efforts to create a common experience at all of our comprehensive middle schools, and effort that includes middle school course offerings and schedules that are standardized across the District.”

Talking points for the Feb. 6th Meeting:

1) BFoM supports the move toward CME for two main reasons: 

• It resolves inequities between schools that have been a problem in our district for years because course offerings or period lengths differ between schools. This is good for kids and families because it makes their experience more fair and predictable.

• It ensures that all students receive a well-rounded education; students who’d lost access to their elective due to being enrolled in special services like ESL and SPED will again have enough room in their schedule for at least one daily year-long elective class. This is the right thing to do for kids.

2) Of the four proposed schedules, BFoM prefers model B and model C.  We analyzed the schedules based on the School Board Planning Committee Middle School Scheduling Objectives and graded each model on the scorecard below, giving a green light to the objectives met by each schedule, and a red light to those not met.  In our opinon, Schedule A and D do not meet the criteria.  We are enthusiastic about Schedule B and C.

 

3) We agree this is a big change, but we feel it is absolutely worth doing and we support the effort to implement it next year.

For years, BFoM has been urging administration to address the complex issues of site-based management & curriculum narrowing that have lead to lack of equity in music access.  The problem is large and it effects students in many areas besides just music.  We’ve intentionally set up a district-wide coalition and we’ve built relationships with decision-makers at every level.  This took a lot of extra time and effort, but it’s one of the main reasons we’ve been able to grow a credible understanding of the issues and have some influence in the district.  Those who lack understanding about our goals, level of engagement, and commitment over time may accuse us of having “outsized” influence or “too limited” a focus*.  Here are some words you can say to help educate them:

BFoM is focused on music education because we believe it is an essential part of well-rounded education.  In researching the solutions that would bring permanent improvement for our focus area, we learned about the interconnected challenges.  We support the interconnected solutions for those challenges.  We have never advocated for music to the exclusion of other important subjects.  We have always advocated for a complete education for every child. BFoM maintains that all BSD students will benefit from a common middle school schedule that provides an equitable experience across schools, developmentally-appropriate class length, and improved access to daily electives for all students (including those enrolled in Special Education, ESL, AVID, and Intervention).

4) BFoM believes support for the expanded access to quality electives that a CME would bring extends beyond our group. SeeBSD Student Success Act Survey Analysis for supporting evidence.

Want to learn more about the Beaverton Friends of Music and our analysis of the CME proposals?  Attend our informational meeting at 6:30pm on Sunday Feb 2nd at Fire Station 65 (3425 SW 103rd Avenue, Beaverton).

November Phone Campaign

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Thanks for joining us in communicating your value for music education to BSD administrators.  Here are your step-by-step instructions:

1. Choose a Monday or Tuesday date before Thanksgiving:

     Nov 18th      Nov 19th     Nov 25th      Nov 26th

2. Select an administrator to call (all are relevant):

     Superintendent Grotting • Deputy Supt. Ginny Hansmann

     Middle School Executive Administrator Ken Struckmeier

3. Call district office at (503) 356-4500, 8am-5pm. Keep a respectful, cordial tone.  Ask for the administrator by name; okay to leave msg.  Say your name & school(s) you or your student(s) attend.  Ask them to support PE + 2 Electives Everyday scheduling including *daily* band & choir for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, taught by a full-time band director and a full-time choir director at every school.

4. Spread the word! Post the QR code to social media.

BFoM Community Education Nights 9/29 & 10/7

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Beaverton Friends of Music invites teachers, parents and community members to attend one of two Community Education nights: 
• Sunday, September 29th 7-8pm Fire Station 67 in Beaverton
• Monday, October 7th 7-8pm Mountain View MS Choir Room in Beaverton
The purpose of these meetings is to orient attendees to our advocacy strategies and educate them about our specific proposals to bring quality music education opportunities to all students at neighborhood middle schools. 
Because we are advocating for PE + 2 Electives Every Day at the middle school level, our proposals have the potential to improve educational opportunities for students interested in a range of electives besides music. We invite those families to attend this meeting as well or wait until a little later in the fall when we’ll plan a similar meeting for a broader audience. 
After these meetings, attendees will be much better prepared to advocate effectively with administrators and other community members at the Student Success Act BSD Community Conversations in October. 
**Please note the BFoM Community Education Nights are not the same thing as the BSD Student Success Act nights.  We highly recommend advocates prioritize the BFoM training before participating in SSA events.**
See you soon –  don’t forget to bring a friend or two!

BFoM Daily Action for Daily Music **Challenge**

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1 Tue

9/3

 Sign up to march with BFoM in the Beaverton Celebration Parade on Saturday 9/7 at 9am.  Invite 3 friends and use this link.
2 Wed

9/4

 View BFoM’s new video — We boiled down years of background and details about this summer into a 25-min video to support music educators getting involved in advocacy.  We’ll have a version for parents & community members soon.  Hands full? Even just listening to it has value.
3 Thu

9/5

 Check in with your music teacher at school!  Ask if they’re coming to the Celebration Parade this Saturday.  Who else from your school is coming?  Ask if they had a chance to watch BFoM’s video, yet.
4 Fri

9/6

 Air out your red shirt, ready your walking shoes, pack your sunscreen & water bottle. The parade is tomorrow!  Make sure you understand the parking and shuttle bus services posted here.  Did you RSVP yet?
5 Sat

9/7

 Parade Day! Meet at Griffith Park by 9am. Group photo at 9:15am (location TBA), assemble on parade route by 9:45am, step-off at 10am, conclude by 12pm. 
6 Sun

9/8

 Consider applying to the Middle School Boundary Adjustment Advisory Committee. Read BFoM’s post about how this work relates to our advocacy.  We’d love to know if you are planning to apply! Write to info@beavertonfriendsofmusic.org.
7 Mon

9/9

 Use this easy link to join the BFoM mailing list and you’ll receive regular email updates: bit.ly/bfomsignup. Invite three friends to join, too!
8 Tue

9/10

 Plan to join us for one of two Community Education Nights this fall: Sunday 9/29 at Fire Station 67 or Monday 10/7 at Mountain View MS.  Both meetings 7-8pm.
9 Wed

9/11

 Read BFoM’s blog post: “Connecting the Dots Behind the Latest Cuts” to make sure you have all the background for the advocacy issues we’re focusing on.
10 Thu

9/12

 Talk with a BSD middle school student. Ask them whether they got the electives they wanted, and how frequently the classes meet.  If the students is in band or choir, ask how it’s going and if they’ve noticed any changes this year.
11 Fri

9/13

 Invite three friends to attend a BFoM Community Education Night with you; designed to bring newcomers up to speed while supporting experienced advocates with details on our PE + 2 Electives proposal for the year. Knowledge is POWER!
12 Sat

9/14

 Mark your calendar for a School Board meeting or two … we’ll need a good crowd of Red Shirts at each one.  You know we’ll eventually come a knockin’ for reps so you might as well get them on your calendar now ; )
13 Sun

9/15

 Are you a die-hard BFoMer? Attend our planning meeting at Fire Station 65 this evening at 7-8pm. 
14 Mon

9/16

 Mark your calendar for our monthly BFoM planning meetings on the 2nd Sunday of every month at Fire Station 65.
15 Tue

9/17

 Take the BSD Needs Assessment Survey to discuss your value for equitable access to daily music in our middle schools.  (Note: attending our Community Education Nights on 9/29 and 10/7 will give you some good talking points for the survey.)

March with BFoM in the Beaverton Celebration Parade!

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RSVP to join BFoM to march in the Beaverton Celebration Parade on Saturday, September 7th at 9am-12pm. Wear RED and meet at Griffith Park; bring sunscreen and a water bottle – it’s a 1.5 mile walk.  Your RSVP will put you in touch with BFoM Parade Organizer, Matt Hoeferlin. He’ll send you details about parking and precise meetup location.
 
This is a great chance to invite friends because it’s the most FUN we’ll have all year! We’re also looking to make BFoM history by staging a group photo with BFoM and all our participating BSD music groups.  Exciting, huh?!  Anyone who loves music education can join our group. Don’t forget to RSVP by Friday 9/6 at 7pm.
Information for participants from City of Beaverton here.
Parking map from City of Beaverton here.

 

Link

We invite BSD music educators and their supporters to watch our new video about the status of Beaverton’s middle school music program and how you can get involved as an advocate.  Click the link:

BFoM Video for BSD Music Educators

The video is about 25 minutes long.  There are a few visual aids that you’ll want to see, but it also works to just listen along — perhaps on your commute to work or while you’re making dinner.

 

Connecting the Dots Behind the Latest Cuts

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BFoM’s July 2019 petition includes background and history to explain where the BSD’s music program has been, what BFoM has been doing to advocate, and how that relates to what’s happening right now.  The following expands on those points for those who wish to have a deeper understanding. We’re constantly learning about school policies, so please let us know if there’s anything we missed.

To start things off, let’s take a look at where our middle and high school programs stand now in terms of staffing and scheduling.  Here we can see that most band programs met daily last year, but the majority will now meet every other day, even in cases where the band director position was just increased.  Three band programs and one choir program that were meeting daily last year will now meet every-other-day, and there are only three band programs left that meet daily with a full-time director.  Three schools still have absolutely no choir curriculum offered at all (highlighted in bright red). Four directors were transferred this summer due to the changes in allocation at each site, yet the overall FTE dedicated to music remains basically flat:

Key: 1.0 = one full-time teaching position • 0.5 = one half-time position • “Daily” = students attend the class every day • “e/o” = students attend class every-other-day

1. BSD Funding for Curricular Programs

BSD has two systems for funding curricular programs in schools: Centrally-allocated and Site-based.  The district budget provides some details in the SAM (“Staffing Allocation Methodology”) section of the budget.

  • Centrally-allocated staffing means central office administrators determine the service level that should be offered and then allocate the appropriate number of staff positions to provide that service level at each school.  Some of these programs have their own line-item in the district budget, such as “Specialists” (i.e. Music & PE) on the SAM for Elementary Schools.
  • Site-based staffing means each school starts with a lump sum of general staffing funds. In conference with staff committees on class size and scheduling, the principal at each site decides how the funds should be split between each subject and how the subjects should be scheduled (class length & frequency). Changes in site-based positions are harder to track within the district budget because the decisions are made at the building level, sometimes after the budget is passed.

BSD elementary schools are centrally-allocated for music (and PE, and most other major programs). Each elementary and K-8 school is allocated 1.0 FTE music teacher for 18 homeroom classes, 1.5 FTE for 19-24 classes, 2.0 FTE for 25-35 classes, and 2.5 for 36+ classes. The same model is used for PE classes. The formula moves in concert with the Certified Collective Bargaining Agreement which entitles elementary homeroom teachers to 675 minutes average weekly plan time.  It is straightforward and fair, requiring principals to schedule all elementary students for minimum of 90 minutes of music and 90 minutes of PE every 5 to 6 school days no matter which of the 34 elementary/K-8 schools they attend.

Note: General staffing for elementary homeroom teachers is also centrally-allocated based on the district’s student-to-teacher ratio for the budget year; it provides a lump-sum number of classroom positions and each school’s Class Size Committee determines how many sections of each grade level there will be that year.  In this way, principals and staff still have some flexibility with their schedule and class sizes, but music and PE curriculum remain guaranteed at 90 minutes per week.

BSD middle and high schools use the site-based model for staffing music and almost all other programs.  The SAM provides a lump-sum number of teaching positions based on the district’s student-to-teacher ratio for the budget year, and the principal (in conference with staff committees on Class Size and Scheduling) decides how much or how little of each subject will be supported in their particular school.  That is why the offerings often look different from school to school, sometimes varying widely.

Note: There are certain programs at the secondary level that are centrally-allocated and have their own line-item on the SAM.  AVID and Intervention are two examples. ELL and Special Eduction (a.k.a. “Resource Room”) programs are also centrally-allocated for both elementary and secondary levels; they have a dedicated page in the district budget.  BSD has centralized policies dictating the level of service and frequency of access students should have to those programs.  The district tracks student enrollment in these programs to predict the level of staffing that will be needed for each program at each school.

2. Who Decides about Curricular Programming

During this year’s budget process, specific program reductions were outlined by the district in order to balance the budget.  The cuts touched many areas including central office TOSAs, but the district did not announce which categories of TOSAs would be reduced during the budget process.  In that regard, the cut to our Fine Arts TOSA position, while disappointing, is not a complete surprise, but rather somewhat a surprise.  The PE TOSA was also cut to half-time FTE this summer, but that was expected since half the position had been funded by an expiring grant.

A few of the other major areas listed for reduction in the 2019-20 budget were ELL & Title I (adjusting for enrollment), Intervention, and the Primary Years Program. Some of the cut Intervention positions were at the middle school level, and somewhere between losing the Intervention positions and making building decisions about scheduling and class size, the cuts ended up unexpectedly falling to electives programs including music.  This part is a complete surprise.  We heard there were also unexpected cuts to some middle school Spanish and drama courses. There may be other courses affected that we haven’t heard about yet.

Building principals made the decisions in this case, but BFoM does not believe building principals hold all of the responsibility.  There is a problem with our district’s system for programming middle school curriculum. Schedules and course offerings at our eight neighborhood middle schools have varied considerably for years, with no sense of vision for ensuring equitable opportunities to learn.  This causes issues for student experience with K-12 music education as well as other subjects that require sequential instruction over time. The target of our advocacy needs to be both principals in charge of steering their building and the higher levels of administration who have the power to fix the systemic part of the problem.

3. BSD Music Task Force of 2014 and Initial Progress

Part of the reason this summer’s situation is so frustrating is the Board and administration have been aware of the issues, and they could have been successfully addressed long ago if only it had been made a priority. We feel confident that it isn’t so much a budget issue as it is a philosophical/structural issue. Our coalition successfully provided unified support for the district to create a Music Task Force in 2014 and begin to implement its recommendations.  Unfortunately, the district stopped implementing those recommendations shortly after elementary music was restored and our Music TOSA (now Fine Arts TOSA) was hired.  As promised, some bond funds were distributed to middle and high school band and choir programs for materials and equipment.  Along the way, middle and high school principals increased or maintained music staffing according their own timing and building-level priorities. That all represented progress compared to where things were after the sweeping music cuts of 2012, but representation of music courses in the middle school schedules remained spotty and lop-sided.  BFoM was keeping an eye on that situation and listening for ways we could help when a couple of new complications came onto the scene.

4. A Surprise Music Cut at Mountain View in 2015

In 2015, the outgoing principal at Mountain View Middle School unexpectedly cut the school’s daily band and choir program in half and the band director was involuntarily transferred to another school. PE became a daily class, math/science/humanities courses were lengthened from 70 to 90 minutes per day, and a Spanish elective option was added. The cut in music FTE and the schedule crunch meant band and choir classes would be scheduled every-other-day.  This was the first music cut of any kind since 2012, and BFoM sprang into action to support the MVMS parents and students.  They ran a petition that gathered 1400+ signatures asking the new principal to bring the band director back and schedule music classes daily.  Sadly, the principal chose not to return the cut positions or scheduling, but our advocacy did lead to the creation of a new 5th grade band pilot program in hopes of bolstering enrollment for the following year.  This program excited us because returning elementary instrumental education was one of John Benham’s top recommendations back in 2013 and the Music Task Force had asked for a 5th grade band pilot program in its 2014 Final Report. The pilot started in January, 2016 and was supported with $20,000 for new beginning band instruments at Mountain View. By spring of that year, Carl Mead, then deputy superintendent for Teaching & Learning, announced the program would be expanded district-wide for the 2016-17 school year, but those plans ultimately fell through.  While there was a decent amount of interest and participation, there were also a number of problems with the pilot: it was not scheduled for success (the beginning 5th grade band classes took place after school and required long bus rides for the students who were enrolled), and band directors at middle school were concerned about how they’d handle teaching 6th grade beginners along with the 6th grade students who’d already had a year of band.  The disparity in middle school music class scheduling exacerbated this problem.  Some schools were scheduling band and choir every other day whereas others had it daily, and our middle school choir programs had been in crisis for years (3 schools had NO CHOIR at all). It seemed logical to focus on ensuring all middle school students were having a quality experience before expanding the elementary feeder program, and the pilot was not renewed or expanded.

5. The PE Mandate

By 2016, the new elementary and middle school PE mandate was heavy on the minds of administrators and began adding to the scheduling complexities for middle schools.  They had to figure out how to provide daily 45-minute PE classes along with electives (and elective choices) as well as ELL/SPED/AVID/Intervention services. Many schedules at that time had shifted to a 5-period day with daily math, science, humanities and two elective slots.  The daily PE took one full elective slot, leaving only one left for an actual elective.  If it was a daily elective (such as music) there would be no room in the schedule for a second elective or a special service.  Some principals decided to cut music to every-other-day in order to provide students with their special service or second every-other-day elective. Others used a 6-period schedule and/or kept PE every-other-day to make it work.  Some scheduled teachers in ways that allowed them to provide special services during part of the regular class time.

6. BFoM’s Proposed Solution: “PE + 2 Everyday” Middle School Scheduling

BFoM studied the schedules of Oregon schools that were navigating the challenges and still offering great music education to their students.  We coined the term “PE + 2 Everyday” to summarize the policy change we’re seeking.  “PE + 2 Everyday” is a short term for a basic level of service we feel BSD should be providing to all middle school students.  In addition to their math, science, language arts, and social studies courses, students should be able to have daily PE and two electives, at least one of which is a daily, year-round elective of their choice protected from pullouts for special services like ELL/SPED/AVID/Intervention.  The other elective would either be an every-other-day subject of choice alternating with a special service, or a second daily year-round elective of their choice. A number of schedule formats provide this for students (7-period day, modified block, etc.).  Our idea is that building administrators should select from a variety of possible schedule formats that support “PE + 2 Everyday” and central administration should provide centralized staffing for a basic set of electives in the SAM to guarantee at least daily band and choir for all students who want to enroll. Other elective courses would have the same advantage of being centrally guaranteed, helping ensure quality experiences no matter which path students take with their education.

7. Elective Offerings

Elective subject offerings have also been identified as a point of disparity in Beaverton middle schools.  Where one school may offer 4 electives (say band, art, drama, and tech), others may offer 6 (band, choir, art, tech, Spanish, and drama).  Still others offer 10+ electives.  The number of electives at some schools has expanded since 2014, putting increasing pressure on music courses to compete for students and time in the schedule.  When 5th graders are asked to forecast for an elective, they are usually advised to select their top three choices in order of priority.  The number of possible electives can dramatically effect how many students will select any given elective. Principals operating under a site-based staffing model allocate FTE to courses based on enrollment.  In a year where additional courses are offered, enrollment is spread out among the different offerings and the music enrollment drops accordingly.  “Enrollment dropped” is the justification principals have sometimes given for reducing their music program even though the cause of the drop is not always the quality of the program itself or even students’ level of interest, but rather changes in the building schedule or forecasting process.

8. BFoM and The Big Picture

Beaverton Friends of Music was founded by about 40 parents, teachers, students, and community members in 2012 after sudden, disproportionate cuts to the music program cut elementary music by 50% and secondary by 20%.  The cuts happened during a year the district cut an overall 10% from the budget, and they touched every single program K-12.  Our community quickly united and petitioned the district to add one more furlough day to the calendar in order to stave off music cuts.  Unfortunately, we were too late to affect change that year, but our coalition continued to grow, learn, and build rapport with district leadership.  We vowed to see programs within one year, or else we feared their total demise, and we vowed to make BFoM a permanent watchdog group so we could be more proactive in building and maintaining programs.

BFoM is traditionally a zero-budget, grassroots organization, but in 2013, our community chose to raise $7000 for the specific purpose of commissioning renowned researcher and advocate, John Benham, to study the status of music education in the BSD.  The Oregon Music Education Association served as our local account/umbrella organization in this effort, and contributions came from many individuals and businesses. Benham completed a 50-page report (available on our website www.beavertonfriendsofmusic.org) that was presented at a public meeting in May, 2013.  Benham stated that he found our district’s music program in some of the most chaos he’s seen in his 30-year career.  Based on his report, Beaverton Friends of Music requested that BSD make no more cuts until a Task Force had been convened to look at the problem further and make recommendations.  Superintendent Jeff Rose responded, and the Task Force was recruited: 3 parents, 3 teachers, 3 community members, 2 administrators, and 1 board member.  The team worked for about nine months and presented its Music Task Force Final Report to the School Board in the spring of 2014. (The report is typically posted on the BSD Fine Arts website, but that space is in transition to a new platform, so if you want to read the report, it can be found on the BSD BoardBook under year 2014, meeting date June 2nd… or on our website).  The recommendations of the Music Task Force form the basis of what BFoM is asking for in our 2019 petition.  If you’re curious about which elements of the Music Task Force recommendations have been implemented since 2014, you can read the Music Program Status Report from April, 2017 (also available on BSD BoardBook).  Keep in mind that not much has changed since 2017 besides this summer’s cuts at Whitford Band, Cedar Park Band & Choir, and Five Oaks band, as well as the increases at Stoller Band and Mountain View Band & Choir.

The problem of site-based staffing and scheduling for music is a known issue that’s been allowed to continue unaddressed for too long. We think the systematic lack of action toward fixing the underlying system undercuts the district pillar of Equity and shows a need for leadership. BFoM is advocating for BSD to resolve the systematic inequity as soon as possible, and that is why our petition asks administrators to guarantee daily band and choir at all middle schools for the 2020-21 school year, if not sooner.

9. Conclusion

BFoM has been successfully advocating for music in Beaverton since 2012.  The district regularly uses the centralized staffing & policy for elementary music and has finally made strides toward correcting the cutbacks at Mountain View MS, but has not yet resolved its district-wide middle school staffing and scheduling policy problem in order to guarantee quality music education for all middle school students. Site-Based advocacy will not be enough to keep middle school programs thriving because, until a centralized staffing model is adopted for middle school, and until central administration sets policy to create a common middle school experience with “PE + 2 Everyday” scheduling, each site is just one principal decision away from losing their program.  Improving these policies will lead to better overall experience for students in their school music programs, greater predictability for students and parents for the middle school years, and better transparency in our district budget process for the whole community.

BFoM is advocating for a district-level policy change to correct a district-wide problem.  We need district-wide engagement and unity from stakeholders around the solutions. That’s where our reach of 1000+ parents and community members comes in.  With everyone pitching in, we can connect the right people together and complete the necessary tasks to demonstrate unified, wide-spread support for resolution. Please watch this space for more information on how you can get involved.