California Public School Music Programs at Stake at September
9 Public Hearings in Los Angeles- Report Shows Percentage of Kids with Access to Music Has
Declined 50% in Five Years, But California Performance Review Proposes Letting
Them Graduate with None
Press Release
Tuesday September 7, 12:30 pm ET
Source: American Music Conference
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of music education advocates is alarmed that the California Performance Review (CPR) is proposing further threats to music and arts education programs in the state-even though such programs have already eroded drastically since 1999, as documented in the new report to be released Thursday, "The Sound of Silence: The Unprecedented Decline of Music Education in California Public Schools."
The American Music Conference; MENC, The National Association for Music Education; NARAS, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc.; CMEA, the California Association for Music Education; the California Alliance for Arts Education; and the Music for All Foundation have joined forces to encourage parents, educators and members of the general public to raise their voices on this important issue. The CPR will hold its next public hearing including this topic at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County between 10am and 5pm Thursday, September 9.
"Everyone knows that California schools are suffering under dire financial strain, but the decline in music instruction is dramatically worse than in any other academic discipline," says Laura Johnson, associate executive director of the American Music Conference. "We want to help the CPR commissioners understand why the arts and music education are essential to workforce development in California. The fact is that active participation in music is vital to kids' success, and California kids are losing out on an opportunity they'll never get back."
In the new report, the Music for All Foundation examined California Department of Education data and found there has already been a 50-percent decline in student involvement with music education programs over the past five years. Rather than seeking to stem this tide, the CPR (http://cpr.ca.gov) has proposed a second graduation pathway for workforce development that would remove the arts requirement for high school graduation in California.
The "The Sound of Silence" report concludes that the 50-percent decline in music participation rates from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2003-2004 academic year far exceeds the decline in any other subject area. Over the same period, the number of music teachers has declined 26.7 percent. Several other academic disciplines posted gains over that five-year span, including not only science, math and English but also art, drama and dance.
"We believe the picture painted by this actual data from the California Department of Education will become a wake-up call to policymakers, organizations, agencies, teachers, parents, students, business leaders, and all of those who are concerned about the quality of education provided to our children to take steps now to reverse this trend before it is too late," says Music for All Foundation Chairman Bob Morrison.
In addition to detailing these findings on the state music crisis, the coalition of music advocates will unveil a five-point call to action at Thursday's hearing. Chief among the group's recommendations will be a call for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to appoint a special panel to examine the situation and to make specific recommendations by a fixed date.
The group's other recommendations will include urging local school boards not to let the federal "No Child Left Behind" law interfere with music education, a position consistent with a recent letter from U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige; calling upon local educators to emulate the models of other California communities where music education is strong despite limited resources; urging local school districts to ask the state to make better use of federal grant monies; and calling for parents and other members of the public to become activists in their own home districts.
"For many people from my generation to today's generation of parents, music was a basic part of our own education. In California, this is not the case anymore," says CMEA President Dr. Robert Klevan. "It is unfortunate that in this great state, over half a million children will not have experienced the joys of learning and sharing music in public school classrooms. It is clear from the data reported in 'The Sound of Silence' that the years of cutting back programs, pink slipping music teachers, and eventually eliminating music teaching jobs in this state has taken its toll. Now is the time to act and move to reverse this downward trend."
The decline in statewide music participation, and the proposed elimination of the graduation requirement, conflicts with public opinion: a nationwide 2003 Gallup poll found that 93 percent of Americans feel schools should offer musical instruction as part of the regular curriculum, and a California Public Opinion Survey released in 2001 by the California Arts Council found that 89 percent of Californians believe the arts help children develop creative skills, and 74 percent of them believe the arts improve the quality of children's overall education. Furthermore, recent scientific research links active music making with improved academic performance in students.
The California school music crisis has attracted the attention of several prominent music professionals. Film and recording artist Justin Guarini joins the group in supporting school music. "A child's day is too often filled with mind-numbing facts solely designed for the next high-stake test, and not life application," he says. "An arts education is imperative to our children's growth and well being, and is proven to have a direct and positive effect on all other forms of reasoning."
Recording artist Sheila E. says, "It truly concerns me that after countless data and research gathered over the years regarding the importance and need for music and the arts in schools, we still have to fight to keep it in.
"I have devoted my life to helping abused children learn to cope with the victimization caused by their abusers, through alternative methods of music and art therapy to help them heal," Sheila E. notes. "In 1999, UCLA did a study and it was proven that music and the arts increased their retention, social, and mathematical skills by 40 percent. Not to mention, it taps into the very spirit of each child. So please, for God's sake, save the music education program, and save the very life of a child! In the end, their development to be a productive member of society will be secured."
Singer David Cassidy says, "I would be devastated if my son could not have music as part of his curriculum in school. It should not be a choice between culture and technical training-well-rounded students and graduates will make appropriate choices for their careers, but they must also be trained to make appropriate social choices. Music and art introduce them to a world larger than a classroom or a factory. In California, of all places, entertainment is the key to a vibrant economy. If we do not develop young adults capable of entering that world, the financial base of this state is sure to suffer and impact all of us."
Support for the group's efforts has also come from Fernando Pullum, music director at Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, where the overall graduation rate is 30 percent but the graduation rate for band students is 90 percent. "Music saves lives by raising kids' self-esteem and providing an alternative to the negative activities that are all too prevalent throughout the community that surrounds my school," Pullum says.
One of Pullum's former students, Lorenzo Johnson, has added his voice as well. Before attending Washington Prep, Johnson lived amid drugs and violence, struggled to stay out of gangs, and got poor grades, he recounts.
"When I started high school, I decided to take a marching band class," he says. "I started getting more involved in school, and my grades improved to As and Bs. I started composing music, and I received a commendation from the City Council for my musical activity. For those of us fortunate enough to have gone through Washington Prep's music magnet, we feel so blessed to have found a way out. I am now in college, but along with so many of my peers, I will continue to give back to my former school and to my community."
"Sticking with the choir and band was an escape from hanging out with gang members and smoking marijuana," says another Washington Prep graduate, Nichol Luebrun. "But the band and choir gave me more than just something to do. They changed my life. They instilled in me a love of music. They taught me discipline, perseverance, leadership, and boldness. I am proud to say that this past year I became the first person in my family to graduate from high school and attend college."
The American Music Conference is a national non-profit educational association dedicated to promoting the importance of music, music making and music education to the general public. The full report, recommendations and other advocacy information can be found on the AMC Web site, http://www.amc-music.org.
The Music for All Foundation is a national non-profit organization committed to expanding the role of music and the arts in education, to heightening the public's appreciation of the value of music and arts education, and to creating a positive environment for the arts through societal change. To learn more, visit http://www.music-for-all.org.