BROCKTON — Abdiel Snelling started playing the drums in fifth grade at the George Global Studies School Brockton after he had watched band members and music teachers from Brockton High playing their instruments at his elementary school.
Now, Snelling is a sophomore at the high school and plays in the marching band.
“When I reached this high school, I became interested in playing in the marching band, which has been sometimes called the ‘joy of the city of Brockton,’” he said at a School Committee meeting on Oct. 3.
Brockton High School is well-known in the region for its impressive music program. Like most BHS musicians, Snelling got his start at a young age and continued playing through middle school.
What music programs did Brockton cut?
Brockton has offered music lessons during school for students in fourth and fifth grade, but as of Sept. 8, those lessons have been scaled back.
In a letter sent to elementary school parents across the district, BPS announced that starting this year all music programs would be cut from the fourth-grade curriculum and in-school lessons for fifth graders would be moved to a new before-school program called BPS Morning Conservatory.
“Through the Morning Conservatory, there will be a team of instrumental teachers visiting each elementary school on a weekly basis,” said the letter sent to BPS families. “The team of music educators will deliver lessons with a far greater degree of flexibility — combining students’ musical abilities in unique ways, facilitating ensembles and encouraging a shared exploration and love of music.”
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Reaction to music program cuts
Since the announcement, parents of the music program have addressed the Brockton School Committee at their meetings, requesting the committee reconsiders. At the Oct. 8 meeting, many parents, along with Snelling, brought their concerns to the committee.
“If this marching band is the so called ‘pride of the city’ why are you trying to cut off or limit what would lead kids into this wonderful program?” Snelling asked.
Why BPS cut music in elementary schools
According to the letter from BPS, music students often miss “valuable learning time” from their other classes, getting pulled from regularly scheduled classes to participate in various band events.
At all levels, BPS has struggled on academic assessments like MCAS, especially since the pandemic began.
“This change will ensure students are able to fully participate in their daily activities while still learning to play a musical instrument,” said the letter.
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BPS is one year into its five-year plan to bring 90% of its students to academic proficiency, but MCAS data hasn’t reached even pre-pandemic levels, which were already far short of that goal.
Any students entering fifth grade would be able to attend the before-school music classes, and the Transportation Department would ensure eligible students could take an abbreviated bus route to attend the early lessons. Removing lessons from fourth grade would “align our programming with other school districts.”
“Our commitment to the performing arts is as strong as ever and we hope you consider this change to be a positive reevaluation of how we can best support the holistic needs of our students,” the letter said.
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Community outrage
Snelling said that through the marching band, and his years in music classes growing up, he’s met lifelong friends that he wouldn’t have met otherwise. Plus, he said the marching band has been praised outside of Brockton for its energy and personality.
“To anyone in this room who has ever attended a concert or seen the marching band at a sporting event, you are already aware of the extraordinary talent of our scholars,” said BPS parent Angela Burke at the meeting on Oct. 3.
Many parents shared concerns that if music classes are taken away from the elementary level, Brockton musicians won’t get the head start they need when they’re young to become great musicians by the time they’re in high school.
“We are extremely concerned about the overall impact this will have over time on our robust music program,” Burke said. “We come to you today to beg you not to let this become a pattern of making any additional cuts to our instrument program.”
Parents also worried that many students wouldn’t be able to attend classes if they’re held before school starts, reducing the number of musicians that pick up musical instruments later on in their BPS careers.
“They move into middle school already with a solid foundation,” said Laura Krim, a parent of a Brockton marching band member. “We’re not going to have that wonderful band that we’re all so used to and we love if we don’t start educating our music students early. This doesn’t happen overnight.”
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Committee will discuss changes with music director
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At the end of the meeting, School Committee member Jared Homer, who represents Ward 3, suggested they invite the BPS director of music to a future meeting to discuss the changes to the music program — changes that Homer said “we know will have an impact.”
“Just in the same way that we plan for learning a foreign language or learning another language, you’re learning to read music and perform and communicate with an instrument. It does start early,” Homer said. “The sooner you start that the farther you’ll go with that.”
Homer also said that changes to music education should be made through the same process they consider changing regular academic programs.
“To many students, it’s a therapy, to some it’s a career path, hoping to pursue music [education],” said Brockton resident Linda Pizzi. “If band wasn’t an option, a lot of these students would have chosen Southeastern…a lot of these students wouldn’t be here.”
