Band program cutbacks in Regina public elementary schools worry parents, students, educators
Students, parents and educators are worried about the future of music education in Regina in light of cutbacks announced by the local public school division.
Regina Public Schools (RPS) says it's undertaking a restructuring of its elementary band program for the upcoming school year, with 4.5 of its 14 elementary band teaching positions affected and those teachers being reassigned to other positions.
Mark Haarmann, RPS's director of education, said it comes as his division works through a deficit of more than $2 million. He said RPS is scrambling to finalize its budget, which was delayed by the new Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation contract.
With more money in the contract dedicated to classroom size and complexity, Haarmann said other budget items must be trimmed.
"It'll be a question of doing a little bit more with less, but that's something we're seeing across the division," Haarmann told CBC News Monday.
He said it's not just band facing changes — he pointed to the closure of an intensive support classroom as one example — but that band is offered to students "above complement" and teaching resources are needed elsewhere.
"So you have daily programming and band takes students out above that in elementary," Haarmann said. "The removal of 14 teachers means larger classrooms for other teachers across the system."
Willam and Alex Carlson are both in band at Sheldon Williams Collegiate in Regina. The brothers — who started in band in Grade 6 — worry what the restructuring will mean for future band students.
"If they want to … be in band, then it's going to be harder for them to do that if they don't get enough attention from the teacher, because they need to teach a bunch of other kids," Alex said.
"A lot of my friends in band love music so much," Willam said. "They want to be part of this wider music community we have in Regina and I feel like a starting point for all of that … was back in elementary school when they first got to pick up an instrument."
Elementary band 'where the magic starts,' educator says
Brent Ghiglione, director of bands for the University of Regina, taught in Regina public schools for years. He said elementary band is crucial for developing future musicians.
"We teach them all the fundamentals of playing a woodwind, brass or percussion instrument," Ghiglione said. "That's where the magic starts."
Ghiglione met with Haarmann recently to discuss the band program changes. Ghiglione said he doesn't see a viable plan for the program once the restructuring is done.
"I know once we cut, it'll never come back," he said. "It's going to hurt our community for years and years and years."
Suzanne Gorman, CEO of the Saskatchewan Band Association, said the changes could impact not just musicians, but also community music groups and people who attend music events.
Gorman said band has benefits for kids that go beyond the classroom.
"It strengthens their results in English, math, some other sciences," she said. "They have higher attendance rates and they have a higher rate of continuing on into post-secondary education."
Gorman said band teachers work hard to be as inclusive as possible for all students — from those with complex needs to new Canadians finding a way to fit in.
"Band is a really great encompassing environment for that."
Petition, school board meeting among advocacy efforts
Willam and Alex Carlson's mother, Christina Carlson, has also seen the impact band has had on her boys.
"My kids actually thrive in other academics because they have these outlets of these program," Christina said. "It allows them to have a safe space to experiment and to fail and to try things new."
Carlson, president of Sheldon Williams Area Music Parents, is rallying with other elementary band parents across Regina to present their case at the Regina Public Schools board meeting on June 10.
"There seems to be a lot of confusion around how this has been communicated, so we would really like some clear messaging," Carlson said.
Taryn Luterbach started an online petition calling for the changes to be reversed. As a bassoon player who was in the U of R's wind ensemble for more than 10 years, she said music helped her start her own artist management agency.
"Over the past year, I've had the amazing opportunity to travel all over North America and meet influential people from some of the best orchestras," Luterbach said. "I never would have been able to be in this position if I wouldn't have participated in band."
As of Tuesday afternoon, her petition had nearly 4,500 signatures.
Luterbach said the situation is starting to garner international attention, including from artists she represents through her agency.
"If it's OK for music education to be cut here, then everyone's at risk," she said.
Haarmann said some consultation was done with principals and other division staff about the changes, but that it's impossible to speak with every band teacher ahead of time.
He said work is now underway to support the remaining elementary band teachers. He also said it's worth reviewing the program to see what larger changes might need to happen.
"We have somewhere around 40 per cent of Grade 6s that are in the band program," Haarmann said. "By the start of Grade 8, that's about 17 per cent.
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