STEM + Art = STEAM

Good evening, my name is Jennifer Mohr, and I am the music teacher at Cooper Mountain Elementary and Fir Grove Elementary.  I am also a member of the Beaverton Friends of Music.

The letters S-T-E-M spell STEM.  They stand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  STEM + Art = STEAM

On October 10th, Oregon’s Chief Education Officer, Rudy Crew spoke at a public town hall at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, which has an Intel-sponsored STEM program.  When their star student testified, Rudy Crew applauded.   Earlier in the program, as Rudy Crew was answering a question about how to help students avoid bad influences and stay focused in school, he said very emphatically that you don’t cut the arts, drama, or athletics.  He extended that these keep kids in school, making them more likely to graduate and go on to college.

The Oregon Education Investment Board and it’s predecessor have long been considering some kind of STEM project.  Along with your copy of my testimony, I have included the presentation from last week’s OEIB meeting that says STEAM—not STEM.  Quote:

“Investing in science, technology, engineering, math and the creative arts is crucial to engaging and motivating Oregon’s students to reach the 40-40-20 goal.  Competencies acquired through STEAM education—computer skills, basic math, problem solving, critical thinking, spatial awareness—are needed in a broad range of occupations and industries.  Further, the “soft skills” acquired through STEAM—perseverance, collaboration and creativity—are stronger indicators of future success in college and career than even mastery of basic content.”

In addition to the OEIB’s endorsement of STEAM, the Governor spoke about STEAM at the Oregon School Board Association’s meeting on Saturday.

In Oregon, our education and government leaders say STEAM.

In the course of many one-on-one conversations, the Beaverton Friends of Music have reminded the Board that the Arts are CORE CURRICULUM per national definitions and state requirements.  The arts are of high value to the public in Oregon, as recently emphasized by Measure 26-146 (the Portland Arts Tax) passing convincingly last week.  We know that our school budget is a year-round process.  We therefore remind you at every opportunity: the arts are crucial to our children’s development into successful, productive, educated citizens.  The arts are included in the district’s strategic plan.  The Beaverton Friends of Music encourage you to explore a further resolution to keep and grow the arts, to fund comprehensive music programs to national recommended minimums, and to recognize them as the energizing and unifying force in CORE EDUCATION.

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Fred Sautter is a parent from Raleigh Park district and in touch with Tim Morrison.  During his testimony, Fred played a recording of the title piece from the original sound track of the film “Born on the 4th of July,” on which the trumpet solo was performed by Tim Morrison, a 1974 Graduate of BHS.  Tim is in our lives daily.  He performs trumpet for the theme music on “Nightly News with Brian Williams” and in most films with orchestra since 1997.

Tim is both anxious for music in the Beaverton Schools and will enjoy helping where he can.  Tim’s statement: “One of the bigger picture things I loved about my experience at BHS was the fact that 4 of the 6 classes I took as a junior and senior were music classes. Great preparation for the NEC years and the many years as a professional musician that followed!  Between the concert band, stage band, concert choir, music theory and all of the musicals that were put on by an exceptional drama department, my experience at BHS was a rich and diverse one musically for me. It saddens me to hear that programs like those, which were so influential for me personally, have ended up on the chopping block as a result of budget cuts.”

My name is Tom Colett, I am a Beaverton resident and I am here tonight representing Beaverton Friends of Music. Over the past two months, our members have had the privilege of engaging with the school board in person, via email and by phone. There have been many constructive conversations about how to protect and grow music learning opportunities for students in the Beaverton School District. But, our work must not stop there. We have a vision for music in this district: every elementary school student should receive general music instruction from a certified music teacher for a minimum of 90 min per week and middle and high school students should receive instrumental and choral instruction from a certified music teacher at least three hours per week. Band and choir programs should receive proper funding, so families do not have to pay extra fees and music directors do not have to spend additional hours helping parents organize fundraisers just to keep the program afloat. Elementary classes should have new, well-maintained instruments, appropriate for the kinds of activities that meet the national standards for music education:

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 5. Reading and notating music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 7. Evaluating music and music performances. 8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside

the arts. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

This vision will not only ensure the whole child is being taught, it will play an important part in achieving the district’s strategic plan by allowing a wide diversity of students to THRIVE. We will continue to be in contact with the board, inviting ideas, conversation, and most importantly concrete action that can help provide our students with a strong music education. We ask that you please take some quality time to think of what you might do to show your commitment to providing the kind of funding and support our music programs need to once again be the pride of the Beaverton and Oregon.

Dear Board Members,

This is my son, Ethan. He is 11 and attends the ISC at Whitford Middle School. We specifically chose Whitford at the recommendation of Ethan’s wonderful elementary teacher, Serena Meek, because the ISC teacher there was considered among the best.

When we started school we were informed that this teacher had been laid off and replaced by another teacher who, while having a special education credential, did not specifically have ISC experience at this grade level.

Since the beginning of the school year, it was obvious that the class was struggling. The teacher was trying to meet the needs of each student while establishing a new class, staff and schedule, and lesson plans. My son came home agitated every day. Ethan has difficulty speaking but he reacts to stress and loud environments.

Finally, 5 weeks into the school year, I received a letter from the teacher informing me that she was stepping down from her position. Her excuse was missing her family in another state. But I was a teacher, married to a teacher, and I know that quitting a contracted position in the middle of the year without extenuating circumstances is the professional kiss of death to a teacher. It was obvious that this teacher, this qualified and capable teacher, was placed into a position which she had little experience in, with little time to prepare. Despite supports brought in from other specialists and the district, she felt she had little other choice but to quit.

District choices ended up effecting my son’s education, his routine and his personality. A good teacher’s reputation is tarnished. School officials, specialists, even the principal, have been working diligently to make up for the damage that has occurred by helping in his classroom. I consider myself lucky that those in daily contact with the students in this class have taken it personally upon themselves to try to right the wrongs that have occurred here. A credential in special education isn’t a one size fits all qualification. There are many different areas. To simply plug one person in because they have the right degree can produce disastrous results in a classroom and children like my son are the ones that end up paying for someone else’s strict interpretation of the rules.

But it doesn’t stop there. I recently also found out that my son’s class doesn’t get music anymore either. When I inquired why, I was informed that staff reductions had resulted in only one music teacher, a part time band instructor. He doesn’t have the time in his schedule to accommodate teaching music to an ISC class. My son couldn’t handle the sensory overload of band. My son is being denied access to the arts due to his disabilities.

I would like to quote your own policies to you:

“It is the policy of the Beaverton School District that there will be no discrimination or harassment of individuals or groups based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orienta­tion, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, age, veterans’ status, genetic information or disability in any educational programs, activities or employment.”

With this statement in mind, I must wonder why it is that the students of Whitford’s ISC are not being given equitable access to activities such as music or art. This would appear to go against your own policy of inclusion.

If my son could talk he would tell you many things. But he can’t talk well enough to talk to you. So it’s up to me to be his voice. To remind you that these students, children like Ethan, deserve the same consideration and access to enriching curriculum and activities as every other student. No, I would go so far as to say that they deserve MORE access to these programs. They work hard enough in their everyday lives.

Sincerely,

Dana Woodhouse-Nagy

Mother of Ethan, 6^th grade student at Whitford Middle School