Moving Forward With Music

Funding 

Funding remains one of the biggest challenges in rebuilding my music program. Being department head this year has allowed me more access to the budget and learning about different types of funding available to our school. Most recently, I am looking to start a Vocal Music club so that I can get some funding for the extra-curricular specifically, and alleviate some of the funds I would have used from the Arts budget. My budget secretary and I work well together, so communication and organization is almost always in check. Her support makes budgeting for not only Music, but Drama and Visual Arts more manageable for me, but I do think more support needs to be in place from the administration, school partners, and the school board too. 

Equitable access

Educators can connect with other educators in their school and board to gain more insight of opportunities for students and programming. I have found some success attending board PD, and watching other school’s performances and connecting with teachers there. Every month I find myself learning something new, and through places I would not expect. 

The most recent example that comes to mind is that I was under the impression that a senior level Keyboard Music class would be offered next year and we now have the enrollment numbers to run it. Course selection happened, and the students told me the course was not there. When I approached guidance about it, they told me the school had never offered the course before, so somebody would have to come forward to propose the course at the Department Heads meeting, usually held in October of the new school year. The heads and administration would then vote on holding the course. The staffing committee did not tell me about this sooner, and now I have to wait another half a year before I can bring it up at that ACL meeting to get it approved for the 2026-27 school year. It means that junior students currently enrolled in Keyboard will have to go a whole year without an option for the next grade, and it is all over a miscommunication. 

Adequate time allotment 

I recently spoke to a friend who works in a different school board and hearing the challenges they faced was very eye-opening. It is a bit like this course, where we all face the same types of challenges, but we may rank them in a different order. One thing that is less of a challenge for her than it is for me, is adequate time allotment, and that is because their school offers a full-year, after-school repertoire course. This gives students the opportunity to learn year-round, even once the semester is over. This is incredibly valuable for any learning experience, but especially in music, when consistent, daily practice makes improvement. I would be curious to know how to incorporate a repertoire course into our course selections (I imagine it is the same proposal procedure to the department heads), but I am hesitant to approach this knowing there are already many ongoing challenges in the regular program. 

Equity, diversity, and inclusion

I have personally found fewer challenges with EDI. I register for PD when I can, converse regularly with people who hold more knowledge on topics I know less about, and make sure I am engaging in self-reflective practices. I have found challenges with getting the whole staff on board with EDI, particularly those that have been teaching the same course the same way for a long time. Our administration is trying to bring in more guest speakers in the hopes to get us to check our biases and incorporate more CRP and CSP into our practices. My main dilemma with some of these PD’s is that I have already learned the information through previous programs. My teachers’ college and graduate studies programs focused very heavily on EDI, which has led me to always observing things with a critical lens. I definitely recognize that I do not know everything, I just usually crave a more in-depth learning experience from these sessions. 

Preservice programs

Every teacher brings their own skill sets to the table, and it would be helpful to have the opportunity to explore all the instruments before starting a job or teaching a class to gain more experience. We have a lot of old band equipment and even a steel pan room that goes unused because the instruments need repair and there is no one to teach the courses. It would be appreciated if my administration looked into hiring somebody to teach steel pan again, or allot us the money for the repairs. People unfamiliar with the program ask me if I would do it, and the answer is I would, but I already have to manage four other Music programs single handedly. More support in general from school partners would really assist in the challenges that we face.

Collaboration 

I am fortunate that collaboration is not much of an issue at my school. This can depend on who you talk to, but most teachers are willing to help. However, time is the main deterrent for getting together, brainstorming, and following through with plans.

Qualified music teachers 

I know that there are examples of unqualified teachers filling music positions, but at least at my school and the schools that I am in contact with, this is not the case. I would say that finding a qualified teacher in any subject can be challenging sometimes; we usually have a very specific role that needs filling and it can go weeks without an LTO. Even though the job gets posted, it does not always reach its intended audience, and factors like qualifications and school location play a huge role in unfulfilled positions. The roles for contract music teachers are few and far in between and some LTO’s choose to accept a position in their other teachable for secondary school if it means gaining a contract. It was a very lengthy process for me to interview for both my contract and interim ACL role. There were many applicants and it is generally a procedure that administration does not take lightly. 

Toronto, November 2024