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Editor:  

The Music Curriculum Committee was formed several years ago pursuant to the BSEP measure that was passed so overwhelmingly by the citizens of Berkeley. The committee is very concerned about the severe budget problems facing the District. We want to be proactive, and part of the solution. As part of that, we need to convey information about the importance of musical education for our children, and the ways that we can ensure it will happen. We think it important to know about the vast improvement in the program, since the District hired a full time Coordinator for music and the arts. 

Running the Music Program is like running a small school. We have a staff of 15 teachers, involving some 11.5 FTE. These teachers visit 15 sites, and reach over 1,300 kids in grades 4 & 5 alone! The music program has a budget of about $650,000 that must be managed properly. There are over $1 million worth of instruments and supplies that must be accounted for and maintained. 

For the first time in many years, the music program has made significant progress in achieving its goals, thanks entirely to the District’s foresight in hiring a coordinator. This past year, the music program: 

• Initiated and currently administers the self-insurance fund for the $1 million worth of instruments. 

• Catalogued sheet music and music texts. 

• Recovered lost instruments and music stands. 

• Identified and appraised instruments in actual need of repair (as opposed to those instruments which need to be replaced.) 

• Applied for, (in partnership with Cal Performances,) a Kennedy Center Partners in Education grant for years 2001-2004, and on going. Berkeley was only the third district chosen in California in the 11 years of the program. This partnership is bringing the district (at almost no cost,) workshops for teachers and artists in the classrooms tied to the School Time performances. 

• Recently, over 600 Berkeley students attended the Alvin Ailey Company performance at Zellerbach. Twenty-two teachers attended the workshop and a former Alvin Ailey dancer worked with some 250 students. Again, Cal Performances covered costs not covered by the Kennedy Center, including the artist visits. 

• Greatly improved the efficiency of our delivery of music, involving better scheduling of teachers who need to travel to so many schools.  

• Re-instituted weekly meetings of the entire music staff. 

• Improved moral among teachers. 

• Improved curriculum 

• With the support of one of the Arts Work grants, music teachers are developing scope and sequence music curriculum for the 4th and 5th grades, covering band, orchestra and choir. These are based upon the California Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards (VAPA), adopted by the District. Music teachers are also working on engaging students in class, classroom management and home practice techniques. 

In partnership with the BAESC Committee, we also secured the funds necessary to pay for half of the Coordinator’s position. As part of this we: 

• Organized data about BUSD arts programs so that the District could become eligible for State, and Federal grants 

• Obtained four State Arts Grants. 

• Obtained an East Bay Community Foundation Grant. 

• Obtained a BPEF grant for the final phase of VAPA administrator funding. 

• Reapplied for the 4 State Arts Work Grants this year. 

There has been much discussion over the issue of whether the district should be driven by grants as opposed to the general fund. It should be noted that the Arts Work program (and thus the legislature that passed it,) anticipated that districts would not have enough funds to implement the VAPA content standards. That’s why the money is there and that’s why the grants are structured as they are. The partnerships among the state districts and communities depend upon these multiple, interlacing streams of funding. It’s quite different from other areas, such as math, language and the sciences. 

We are finally securing good programs and getting some recognition for our efforts in the arts both nationally, and from the state. This has been possible because of a coordinator to run the program. This job can not be handled as an extra job for a principal. It has been tried, and has not worked. 

We must keep in mind the history of the music program, and in particular, the tremendous commitment that the citizens of Berkeley have to the arts. BSEP passed by perhaps 83 percent of the voters. It provided for a restricted fund solely intended to provide musical education for our kids. 

Michael Kelley 

Co-Chair 

Music Curriculum Committee