Editor’s Note : Sophia Fisher, an 8thgrader at Dripping Springs Middle School, recently took a survey to measure student interest in an orchestra program at both Dripping Springs ISD middle schools. After completing the survey, she wrote the results into an essay advocating the creation of an orchestra program for the school district and submitted it to the Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees. Published below, in its entirety, is her essay as an open letter to the community; as well as a reply from DSISD Superintendent Dr. Bruce Gearing.

Through the years, the population of Dripping Springs has increased significantly! This has led to many new students coming to attend our elementary, middle, and high schools. Although this has caused lots of improvement for the Dripping Springs School District, we still struggle with one thing... Our school doesn’t offer an elective for string instruments. Though this problem has been argued over countless times, we still don’t have an orchestra. Dripping Springs schools need to implement an orchestra program now! It will satisfy the needs of incoming students and prepare adolescent musicians for the future.

The Dripping Springs School District has the second highest growth rate out of all the school districts in Texas. With this significant amount of growth, electives need to be able to satisfy a variety of people. Dripping Springs Middle School has stated that they want to meet the needs of young adolescents by providing rigorous academic programs that offer a wide variety of courses. Several students already own and play string instruments but don’t have an opportunity in school to pursue their passions. DSISD encourages students to expand their individual special talents, but by not offering any string-based elective, these individuals are limited. Based off of a survey of 369 students at both middle schools, 65% said there should be an orchestra program created. In the same survey, 37% said they would be interested in joining such an elective and 51% said they would be interested in learning to play a string instrument.

There are many jobs for string instruments and ample opportunity to play all different genres of music. One of the most common jobs that musicians will find is to play in a professional symphony or orchestra. However, there are typically more seats for string instruments than brass, wind, and percussion combined. Another reason that strings may find it easier to get a job than band instruments is they are more versatile and can play all types of music like jazz, classical, pop, country, and much more! Other options for string players seeking jobs are they could become private lesson teachers, or even become an orchestra director, provided they go through extra training.

We should also be expanding our music department because playing an instrument can make you smarter! By playing a musical instrument, it teaches self-discipline, attentiveness, and planning. All of these qualities will improve a child’s performance in an educational facility. Recent studies have gone further in saying that playing an instrument can help with high level cognitive processing, such as problem solving, regulating behaviors, and making good decisions. A PhD at the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience said, “While many schools are cutting music programs, our findings suggest that musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future.”

Clearly there are so many benefits to adding an orchestra program to our school district for the reasons stated above. So, in order to benefit young musicians and widen the scope of our teachings, serious work must begin on this crucial lack of musical education. To truly compete with other large school districts, it’s time we created an orchestra!

Response from DSISD

Dear Orchestra Supporters,

I am a strong supporter of music education. My four personal children all play at least one instrument. My youngest played the violin for two years before switching to piano. I have read and understand the research surrounding the impact music programs have on brain development. I would love to see an orchestra program in our district.

That being said, I’ll cut to the chase. During the process of developing the 2018-2019 operating budget for DSISD, we were not able to fund any positions to start an official orchestra program in our district.

There are several reasons why we were not able to do it this year. First, as you know, we are managing strong, steady growth in our community. This required the addition of over 40 new positions in the district. Second, we conducted a full pay review through TASB, and are recommending the board implement adjustments to our pay structure and pay levels, which will cost the district about $2 million per year. This is absolutely necessary to recruit and retain the most qualified life-changers we can find. Third, as we split middle schools for the first time, and as we add opportunities for students to find their interests and passions, we have seen a decline in participation in our existing music programs. We need time to understand these trends and ensure we are offering the right balance of options to our students to meet all their needs.

This issue is important to us and we will continue to search for ways to make this program a reality in our district. We will continue to support an Orchestra Club at the high school and develop our partnership with the Starlight Symphony. I encourage you to continue to support all our music students and help us find opportunities to engage students in their interests and passions, especially those who play stringed instruments.

Thank you for your patience as we worked through the budget process. I hope you have a great summer!

Sincerely,

Bruce Gearing

Superintendent, Dripping Springs ISD