Fundraising for your program
When fundraising for your program there are some very
important things to consider.
Are you fundraising for something specific or just trying to
raise money in general because the district budget does not fulfill what is
realistically needed to maintain a music program?
I believe
fundraising for a trip or a specific is actually a good thing. It can bring a community
together, especially parents whose children are directly affected by the
outcome. If it’s a trip for the band to
play at a competition and needs money for bussing as well as uniforms I believe
fundraising is justified. I also think
it’s purposeful if there is a written goal.
For example the band really could use a new Tuba.
Tubas start
at over three thousand dollars. For some
schools that is their entire budget for the arts, others it’s beyond the monies
budgeted to arts program. I believe in
these two examples it shows the direction that the band director has a vision and
needs help to get there.
I think fundraising without a stated goal isn’t necessary.
If I was asked on an interview do I believe in fundraising, I would answer this
question exactly the same way. Too often
music program budgets are getting slashed.
If I were to concede to fundraising rather than getting a budget from
the school I would be saying that the students in the music program don’t
really need much and they can get buy on very little. It would also show that I
don’t have a vision of building a program that is better than when I walked
into the job on the first day.
There are new tools for music technology, instruments, music
literature, and repairs that need to be met in order for students to get the
best possible musical education they can.
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteI think that you bring up some incredibly important points in your response to this particular blog prompt. As current or pre-service music educators, it is essential that we have a "vision" and concrete goals in mind for fundraising efforts of any kind. To use the example of a band program, even if students are only in elementary school, by the time they reach sixth grade, if not perhaps even in fifth grade, they should be given the opportunity to experience an adjudication festival. I can vividly recall participating in an event of this nature at Six Flags New England, which at the time was known as Riverside Park, during both years of middle school in Simsbury. Looking back on these memories fondly, I wonder why sixth graders from across the district didn't have a chance to participate in either this same festival or something similar. There is no reason not to expose children to these kinds of enrichment based extracurricular activities held outside of the day-to-day school environment. Simsbury is quite fortunate to have an organization known as the Simsbury Friends for Music Association, which handles a great deal of the fundraising efforts for the music department. The group is made up of parents, who either currently has a child participating in the Simsbury Public Schools' Music Department or was represented in past years by one or perhaps multiple children. Working directly with band, orchestra, choir and jazz ensemble directors across the district, they are able to seamlessly coordinate benefit concerts, potluck style events and the like there of, all with the goal of funding public performances of the type that take place at Six Flags New England each year. They are also an integral part of setting up the high school band, orchestra, choir and jazz ensemble's annual trip to places such as Annapolis, Maryland, Williamsburg, Virginia, Orlando, Florida, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and even Prague, Czech Republic. You are absolutely right that "special" excursions of this nature are completely within the realm of being driven primarily by fundraising. Think about all of the hard work that students in the Kashmere Stage Band engaged in, ensuring that they would be able to take trips to Europe and Japan respectively, after being invited to perform in various settings across both of the aforementioned locales. I'm not sure that I completely agree with you about fundraising being the primary means for accessing monies needed to purchase a new tuba. There should absolutely be provisions within any band, orchestra, choir or jazz ensemble budget to allocate a certain amount of money towards both instrument repairs and the purchasing of new equipment. The high cost of a tuba is not something that most students, regardless of the specific socioeconomic standing within a school, are going to be able to meet via their individual families. Most music stores will not rent tubas or baritone horns, going only so far as to potentially offer options for a euphonium. Knowing that to be the case, even in schools throughout Fairfield County, parents are going to be reluctant to drop $3,000.00 of their own money on an instrument that their child is most likely not going to continue playing beyond a certain point, be that the end of middle or high school.
In one of our most recent Music in the Secondary School classes, Professor Schneider commented on how we need to consider where we are investing our money, as we comb through whatever budget we are given, no matter how large or small it may be. If we choose to purchase a tuba, this needs to be a higher quality instrument, because it is going to serve student after student for the next twenty-five to thirty years. Having a definitive idea of what matters most to a band, orchestra, choir or jazz ensemble program is imperative for any ambitious director that is if he or she hopes to have the continued support of colleagues, administrators, parents and district officials collectively. Our superiors always want to know what they are going to be able to get out of our activities. Who ultimately benefits? If we are able to make the case that reasonable funding for our program will allow students to excel to the highest level, through participation in events such as adjudication festivals, outreach opportunities and community performances, along with having instruments that they will be able to depend upon, then "higher ups" are that much likelier to sign on to at least some version of what we are proposing. I am so glad that you mention the notion of standing one's ground in the confines of an interview, because it is one-hundred percent true that if a hiring committee senses that budgetary means are not a big priority for you, they may very well wonder how invested you actually are. Every music program, regardless of the specific type and academic level, should be given a yearly budget to work with. These funds should be able to at least begin to address issues that you outline, such as those with music technology, instruments, music literature and repairs. A district cannot expect that music educators will come up with the money needed for each of these areas of our curriculum without the financial support of central administration. As always, you shared some excellent information with all of us my friend. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to pass on lessons that you have learned from your own teaching in public schools thus far. I enjoyed reading your writing!
ReplyDelete-Matt Chasen-