The student news site of Clayton High School.

The Globe

The student news site of Clayton High School.

The Globe

The student news site of Clayton High School.

The Globe

Save the Strings?

Something is going to be cut. With all the confusion surrounding the District’s recent budget situation, where $1.7 million of spending will be eliminated, this is one thing that is clear. So what will stay and what will go? One recommendation Clayton Superintendent Sharmon Wilkinson provided the Board of Education is the idea of cutting the position in charge of the Elementary Strings Program.

According to the report created by Wilkinson with recommendations from the District buildings, the program currently offers a beginning strings program in 4th and 5th grade, which includes instruction twice a week in a pull-out program.

In the proposed changes, the program could be offered before or after school through a cost-neutral, fee based program.

Hava Polinsky, an eighth grader at Wydown, plays her violin. Polinsky played violin at her elementary school. (Becca Polinsky)
Hava Polinsky, an eighth grader at Wydown, plays her violin. Polinsky played violin at her elementary school. (Becca Polinsky)

In response to this possibility, there has been an outcry from some of the Clayton community. Through a large Facebook group of around 700 members, the students, with the help of Orchestra Director Julie Hoffman, who is also a member, have made their voices heard.

Hoffman and music teacher Ann Geiler have been running the strings program for over a decade. And Hoffman, who was just named Missouri’s Strings Teacher of the Year, is upset by this matter, and is against the proposed changes to the program.

“Our strong orchestra comes from a strong foundation, and that is our elementary program,” Hoffman said. “String players need to begin younger to be competitive and better musicians by high school.”

CHS students who participated in the program in elementary school have been standing up for the program.

“The Elementary Strings Program offered me so many opportunities in life that I would have never been able to enjoy had I not decided to join because it was available for me,” sophomore Adam Garrett posted in the Facebook group. “I can’t think of anything that has become such an important part of my life. This program enriches too many lives and is special to so many people.”

Meramec Elementary School violinist Belle Gage also has positive feelings about the program. “I’ve learned that violin is one of my passions,” she said. “I would have never tried it without this program.”

Aside from students and teachers directly impacted by the program, Clayton parents also feel strongly about its importance.

Belle’s mother, Amy Gage, is one such parent.

“She really has taken this on independently,” Amy Gage said. “She practices without my encouragement because she knows her teacher expects it of her, and because she wants to keep up with her classmates.”

Despite strong feelings the community has for the program, the issue of keeping the program is not as clear as it may seem. The brutal truth facing the District is that budget cuts must be made. Something will have to go.

“Our District is healthy financially, and we want it to stay that way,” Susan Buse, Vice President of the Board of Education said. “But over the last few years our expenses have started exceeding our revenues.”

Buse clarified the real implications of the recommendation being considered.

“The administration has recommended we stop the Elementary Strings program as it is currently constructed,” she explained. “Strings could . . . possibly be fee based, or it could be discontinued. Nothing has been decided, and this was not a recommendation to stop elementary music.”

She also said that the goal of the Board was to protect the District’s core values. Thus, they will deeply consider what parents, students and teachers have to say on this issue, as well as other budget recommendations coming before the Board.

Another issue is that of time allotment for the program.

“Elementary strings is a program students ‘opt into’ and the students are ‘pulled out’ of regularly scheduled class time to participate in Elementary Strings,” Board of Education President Jane Klamer said. “The time set aside for instruction at each elementary school may, for some students, cause them to miss instruction in core classes like math or science. This interruption of core learning is a problem.”

Everyone involved in this decision is interested in protecting the core values of the School District.

“Clayton is known for their support of the arts as well as an academic educational environment,” Hoffman said. “I am leaning on the students and parents to share their concern and value in keeping this program a part of our District.”

Klamer did not state her personal opinion on the matter, but has explained the reasoning behind the possible cut.

“This change would result in cost savings to the District and will result in less disruption in elementary school classes,” Klamer said.

These opinions and the future of the strings program are going to be considered at the Board meeting on Jan. 23, where the budget will continue to be addressed.

Both sides of the issue believe that community involvement is most important, as it is the students of Clayton that are being directly affected by this decision.

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Save the Strings?