Save NSD Music

Double NSD board meetings this week! Attend one or both, get latest updates on budgets, and let the district hear what you care about.

5/28 TUE 7pm, Regular Board Meeting, 3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell

5/29 WED 6pm, Conversations with the Board, Inglemoor High School Library

Note that the second meeting is more of a community discussion style and usually ample time for comments and Q&A.

Latest personnel report reflecting the RIF (Reductions in Force) cuts can be found via the link below to a PDF. For some reason link redirecting doesn't work with FB so I made it non clickable. It will work if you copy paste the URL into your browser and add an H at the beginning. See screenshot.
ttp://go.boarddocs.com/wa/nsd/Board.nsf/files/D5C2NX030FB5/$file/Personnel%20Report%20-%20May%2028%2C%202024.pdf

My kiddos have been to many classes at Alley Bell Music and totally enjoyed every minute there. When a beloved instrumental program essential to elementary education is cut, it not only affects all of us in the public school system, but also parents and businesses and private entities who take pride in sowing the seeds of music in the littlest members of our society.

Looking at my soon-to-be kindergartener who likes to sing Back Street Boys songs and wants to play drum at school, I can't help but wonder how is his future going to be affected by these waves of cuts on music and arts, and where do music and arts public education go from here?

I went to what is slated to be the LAST 5th grade orchestra concert at my son’s school last night. No 5th grade band or orchestra opportunities next year in the Edmonds School District due to budget cuts.

The arts are always the first to be cut. I actually heard someone say recently, “Well, let’s be honest, music is great, but it’s not like those classes create career opportunities”. They did for me. AND, the kids who fall in love with choral singing or playing in an ensemble are the future concert goers and patrons of the arts.

We cannot afford to let this vital part of our societal fabric disintegrate. Write your legislators demanding they fully fund education. Write your school boards. Show up to the school concerts and give the loudest applause. Music matters. Photo: Miss Sarah’s son

NSD has not put school closure on the agenda, and hopefully it wont be. However the sentiment here is the same. Parents need to feel heard!

Quoting from the article --
"In the midst of this chaos, the [Bellevue school] district hired a new superintendent, Kelly Aramaki, who dialed the heat way down. He reduced Bellevue’s planned closures from three elementary schools to two, offered detailed explanations of precisely where money would be saved and decided against closing any middle schools — not before trying to reverse enrollment declines by offering an Arabic-language program at parents’ request. This is crucial. Those families felt heard. And this year, the district has about 600 more students."

Dear SPS, to fix Seattle’s schools crisis, turn to your community | Editorial Seattle Public Schools has problems beyond the financial. In the face of a yawning budget deficit and dwindling enrollment, it's time to get parents on board.

Reminder: NSD Board Meeting is 4-5:30 PM today at 3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell.

It is Teacher Appreciation Week. Let's remember to show appreciations to our specialist teachers and staff! Send a note, a small treat, an art creation, or a gift card to your student’s music/PE/recess teacher/LAP/etc.

Sadly, while we celebrate the teachers in our community, approximately 50 NSD teachers will be getting pink slips and losing their jobs.

I understand cuts are inevitable in the face of a large budget shortfall. The question is, whose interests is the school district prioritizing when making decisions? How are those priorities determined? How is every step of the process communicated to the public? Has the district made enough efforts to solicit parent input? And who have a say in defining how much effort is enough?

Ask the school board these questions via email ([email protected]) or in person at the next board meeting on May 13th, 4pm.
More info on attending the board meeting: https://www.nsd.org/our-district/leadership/school-board/attend-a-school-board-meeting

Did you know that there are 20 different task forces and committees in Northshore School District, but none is related to music?

There needs to be a Music Task Force formed to study and make recommendations for the music program. This Task Force would comprise parent, educator and central administration representation equally.
The task force can come up with a solution for 5th graders, work to consolidate resources for the entire program, and explore equitable funding options including foundations and grants, which could help the budget.

Write to the school board at [email protected] and request that a task force be formed. Ask them to put Music Task Force as an agenda item for discussion in the next board meeting on May 13th.

Most importantly, attend the next school board meeting (5/13 at 4pm) in person in support of the advocacy efforts!

The student leaders at Project CliKK created a petition specifically representing the students' voices in our district! Thank you Project CliKK! We couldn't have said it any better.

Ask your elementary, middle, or high schoolers to sign this petition, because music matters, students voice matter.

This campaign needs you now Save NSD Music! Preserve the 5th grade orchestra and band programs!

Did you know that band, orchestra, and choir enrollment is much higher than general music at the secondary level?

In addition to creating a stronger general music curriculum in middle school that offers students chances to stay in music beyond the traditional ensemble class, we must preserve the 5th Grade Band and Orchestra program. This program is the foundation for secondary music engagement.

Cutting 5th grade band and orchestra will end up costing the district more money in just a few years and will reduce the middle and high school programs to a state where they will no longer be viable.

As parents in the Northshore School District, we need to keep voicing our opposition to these cuts and request the district do the following:

1. Put on hold the planned cuts to 5th grade band and orchestra.
2. Form a task force. The task force can come up with a solution for 5th graders and also work to strengthen the entire program which could help the budget.

What Can I Do?

1. Write letters and e-mails to tell the district why they need to reconsider cutting music education. Speak from your own experiences and cite the report (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FieE111k0JsBN4HGRn6p_EWkFMEWrwXx/view?usp=drivesdk).

2. Attend the rest of the school board meetings in support of the advocacy efforts.
3. Tell your friends and neighbors, pass out the attached flyer at all the events you attend.

4. Educate yourself by reading the report (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FieE111k0JsBN4HGRn6p_EWkFMEWrwXx/view?usp=drivesdk). Especially check out the summary which begins on page 36.

5. We need help fully funding the creation of the report and the other advocacy efforts. Donate to the GoFundMe and share with your friends. (https://www.gofundme.com/f/SaveNSDMusic)

6. Join the more than 1,700+ signers of the petition. It is one way to show the district this is a pressing matter that MANY people are invested in. (https://www.change.org/p/keep-elementary-band-orchestra-in-northshore-sd )

Hello NSD Families!

NSD is planning to cut the 5th grade Band and Orchestra programs to help solve its financial crisis. Cutting these programs will end up costing more money in as soon as 2 years. The proposed cut to 5th Grade Band and Orchestra is 6.0 FTE. The district will have to hire 7.99 FTE in the future to cover those students that would otherwise be in a high density music ensemble class.

- The rush to judgment in ratifying the decision to eliminate the elementary band and orchestra program was not only a financial miscalculation, it demonstrates abandonment of the Strategic Plan in which the community had placed its faith.
- Cutting 5th Grade Band and Orchestra *without a replacement program* is projected to cause a 65% loss of Band and Orchestra Enrollment from 6-12th Grade. Our music program cannot survive with that large of decline in enrollment.
- Although our district has a great reputation for music, our student participation numbers are quite low, especially when considering our district size and wealth. A task force needs to be created to determine the root causes of our program’s attrition rates.
- There is strong evidence to conclude that in 4-5 years our music program would cease to exist.

We will be presenting a report with recommendations to the board during the *board meeting on April 22nd*. The goal is to educate the district on the impacts of these cuts, share insights and propose the district create a task force to further investigate and put on hold any further music cuts. We need as many families to show up as possible to show support. The board meeting starts at 7pm. We recommend you show up early!

Location: 3330 Monte Villa Pkwy
Bothell, WA 98021

For more information on how to attend a school board meeting: https://www.nsd.org/our-district/leadership/school-board/attend-a-school-board-meeting

See you there!

Are you wondering how could this cut be avoided if the teachers union and school district have already signed employment contracts?

The truth is, the contract cannot and will not take effect until the budget is voted and passed in June.

Want to find out more? Come listen to Dr Benham's report tomorrow 9:30am at Kirkland Performance Center!

Save NSD Music's Parent Event is this Saturday 9:30am at Kirkland Performance Center.

- Help us raise awareness to retain 5th grade instrumental music programs.
- Listen to Dr Benham' report on the impacts of cutting music.
- Spread the word and put our cause on NSD board meeting on April 22nd.

We have lined up student performances, speakers, and special guest, Brenda Barnes and CEO of Classical King FM. Come join us!

A Northshore specific 4 min video created by Dr. Benjamin that shares more details on his approach and the data on our district.

Message From Dr. Benham to NSD Elementary Band & Orchestra Effort

Hello parents and community members,

Despite our best efforts, we find ourselves at an impasse. We have made great progress getting the word out about saving our 5th grade Orchestra and Band Program; however, we need help raising the funds to retain Dr. Benham, the music advocate who has spent the last 40 years saving nearly 200 school music programs across the US with a 90% success rate. If we can't raise enough funds in the next 48 hours, we will not be able to engage Dr. Benham in our advocacy.

He is our biggest hope in strengthening our case to keep a 5th grade band and orchestra program in the elementary schools. Based on his preliminary work, we already know that cutting 5.4 music teachers in NSD will result in the district having to hire 8.0 teachers a few years.

If we are able to reach our GoFundMe goal, these are the things Dr. Benham will be able to help us with:

- A detailed report to present to the school board that demonstrates how cutting the program is a poor long term financial choice.
- Meet with all the NSD music teachers to hear concerns and suggestions and align on messaging in the report.
- Continue to advise us on how to advocate using his vast experience saving these type of elementary music program.

Let us continue to work together to change the course of the district despite these obstacles. Thank you for being part of our school community!

4/8 Newsletter continued
Happenings From the Past Five Days:

Meeting with Dr. Benham
Dr. Benham met with some of the Northshore PTA and music boosters Thursday night, April 5th. He explained his research regarding what happens to school districts that cut elementary band and orchestra feeder programs and shared some of the data and analysis that he has collected about Northshore so far. Stay tuned - we plan to share a highlight video of this meeting soon.

Project Clikk Concert
On Friday, April 6th, Project Clikk hosted a benefit concert on our behalf at the Kenmore Hanger. The performances given by student musicians of all ages were truly show stopping! Thank you to all the wonderful student performers and organizers from schools all over our region!

Update on Requested Data
We need your help! We are still missing some of the data for our analysis because NSD has not fulfilled our request from March 22nd. We have most recently been informed that they anticipate being able to respond by May 21st. By doing so, the district has declined to release the requested public records in a timely manner (a 2-page survey on 2023-24 school year class sizes and basic things like that). We need as many parents, students and community members as possible to write physical letters to the central NSD office requesting that district leadership release the records in time for Dr. Benham to present his report to parents on April 20th.

If you have a contact within the student-led school papers, we welcome you to ask that this call to write letters be printed as well!

Please direct letters to:
Attn: Superintendent & Northshore SD Public Records
3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell, WA 98021

April 20th Parent Meeting at Kirkland Performance Center
We have a location for the big event! Kirkland Performance Center has partnered with us and they have kindly given us a rare, discounted rate.

Save NSD Music Coalition Newsletter

April 8th, 2024

Dear parents and community members,

Thank you for all your support, we are making progress together!

In this newsletter:

As we hear from you, other parents, community members and Dr. Benham, we are aligning on the best path that supports our children and the district in this budget challenge.

First, cutting band and orchestra out of elementary schools will not save the district money due to the unique teacher/student ratio that exists in a healthy secondary (middle and high school) music program. A healthy and fiscally sound secondary program thrives when there is a band and orchestra program in the elementary schools. This is our main case.

We had some questions on social media about the funds being raised. They are to defray the cost of raising awareness. This involves bringing Dr. Benham to provide us parents guidance, insights, research and the NSD report and recommendations. Additionally, the funding will help pay for the venues needed to support advocacy and the outreach efforts. We are not raising money to pay for the program itself, but rather to show the district the program is valued, and urge them to make the most sound financial choice considering the downline costs.

We have received comments about the need to lobby the state legislature to budget more money to school districts. Please reach out to us if you would like to lead a lobbying effort. While lobbying is crucial in the long term, our current focus is the immediate need to prevent a whole program from being cut. We need to ensure our school district makes sound financial decisions that will support both incoming 5th graders and long term fiscal health. It will require us to bring everyone together so the district hears our collective voice. Please, sign up to help us.

The website saveNSDmusic.org is continually being updated with information. Please check it regularly to keep up with new developments.
(Newsletter continues in the next post)

Save Northshore School District Music NSD plans to cut 5th grade band and orchestra for 5th graders this fall, reducing education of our children and creating downstream impacts that will cost money. Get involved to stop the music cuts!

Tomorrow 4-6 pm in Kenmore. All proceeds will go to Save NSD Music's GoFundMe!

Facing a $26 million shortfall, the Northshore School District administration and school board have made plans to move forward with cuts to the district’s 5th grade Orchestra and Band program beginning fall 2024.
Parent and community voices are the only chance to stop this cut and save NSD music programs.

Who we are

A group of Northshore parents have come together and started organizing grassroots efforts in advocating for our kids, teachers, and music education. Below are what we have done or plan to do, and we need your help!
- We have created the website https://savensdmusic.org/ to spread the word and help engage everyone who cares about music.
- There will be a public meeting for parents, students and anyone interested on Saturday, April 20th from 9:30am – 11:30am. Location TBD.
- We have invited Dr. John Benham, a national financial music consultant and music education advocate, to come to our district and research the impact of budget cuts. He will make recommendations based on his years of work in this area. We hope his research and recommendations can help inform a better plan to save our band, strings and choir programs.

How to get involved

- Sign our petition https://www.change.org/p/save-nsd-music-and-say-no-to-cuts Your voice matters!
- Subscribe to our newsletter https://savensdmusic.org/get-involved/
- Consider donating to our GoFundMe https://gofund.me/32d69fb6
- Volunteer your time to help us! https://savensdmusic.org/get-involved/
- Most importantly, please attend the public meeting on April 20th to become better informed and show your support!

If you have ideas or suggestions, please reach out to us at [email protected].

NSD administration and school board will make the final decision about 5th grade music programs in June. It is not too late for the district to make a different, more fiscally prudent choice. Let's do it!

Save Northshore School District Music NSD plans to cut 5th grade band and orchestra for 5th graders this fall, reducing education of our children and creating downstream impacts that will cost money. Get involved to stop the music cuts!