Dear NYSUT,
I am writing to share my pride in my students and coworkers, and our valiant struggle to create an instrumental music program at the Riverhead Charter School. Riverhead is a small elementary school on Long Island’s east end, set on a quiet, wooded property amidst farm fields and sod farms. Being surrounded by nature’s beauty, the children learn to appreciate fresh air, birds chirping, and the sound of our band and orchestra receiving lessons on the lawn.
The Riverhead Charter School serves 284 children in grades kindergarten through sixth grade. The children come from 16 different communities on Long Island. Their parents have chosen to send them here for many different reasons, but the primary reason seems to be the intimate setting and family atmosphere. Many of our children are from households that suffer financial hardships. In fact, approximately 65 percent of the children receive free and reduced meals. At RCS, the board, administration, teachers and staff come together to meet the needs — financial and emotional — of every family. One of those needs most visible to me, the school’s new music teacher, was that the children and their families lacked exposure to the arts.
Just two years ago, there was no in-school instrumental music program at the Riverhead Charter School. I also serve the school as an ESL teacher, and was determined to broaden the students' artistic horizons. We started an after-school instrumental program, with two other local music teachers and myself, and RCS became an official New York State School Music Association school. Time and space were limited, but a small group of students was able to participate in the Spring 2010 NYSSMA Solo Festival. All participants achieved excellent or outstanding ratings and all earned NYSSMA medals.
After many discussions with and positive support from the principal, we began an in-school instrumental music program for the 2010-2011 school year; the school hired a second music teacher. Our funding was limited so the program began with old, borrowed and broken instruments, and was taught in a variety of settings, including the basement of the administration building, for lack of a music room. Local music shops were contacted to create a low-cost rental program for our children. Fourteen students signed up for lessons in violin, viola, cello, trumpet, flute, clarinet, saxophone and drums, and were able to perform for the first time in the end-of-the-year concert. A larger number of students participated in the NYSSMA 2011 Solo Festival with great success. One student received a perfect score and the best critique we have ever had at RCS – high praise for a fourth grader from a fledgling program.
In 2011-2012, we continued with two music teachers and an instrumental program that accepted 57 instrumentalists! Some of the lesser-privileged students were able to obtain full scholarships from Family Melody Center to cover the cost of instrumental rentals. The symphonic band was able to perform at the RCS winter concert for the first time, as well as performing at the spring concert. Students preparing for the upcoming 2012 NYSSMA Solo Festival performed beautifully at the RCS Talent Show, and went on to score in the medal categories at NYSSMA in May.
From humble beginnings, the RCS music program has come a long way in a short time. The program shows great promise for the future. We are so proud of our students and their accomplishments, and are so pleased that we have been able to do so much with so little.
Jean-Marie Taş
Music Director and ESL Coordinator
(Jean-Marie C. Taş is a member of Riverhead Charter School Teachers Association)