We collaborated with a fantastic band leader, Mr. Searles, at the Thorp School District. 

He was kind enough to answer some questions about the school itself and the impact of the donated instruments: 

 

 

1.  How many kids are in the school district and about how many kids are in the Band/Music program?

 

We have around 260 students Pre-K through 12th Grade in our district. I have about 50 students who are in one of my 3 bands (5th Grade, 6th Grade, and MS Bands) as well as 6 in Choir. I serve an additional 100 students as their Elementary General Music Teacher (Grades K-4).

 

2.  Can you share the impact of the donated instruments to your students and music program?

 

Percussion - the percussion instruments and stands you provided gave us proper instruments that we've been missing, most notably the Suspended Cymbal, Concert Toms, and Castanets. We were having to improvise with a Ride Cymbal, Drumset Toms, and a woodblock or claves. We now have more accurate and authentic sounding instruments. Also, the Snare Drums were a much needed improvement. I don't think our school has had brand new snare drums in well over 20 years. While ours are (mostly) still working and we have enough of them, there is no telling when one (or more) of them will go out. Having newer snare drums in the rotation will keep the most staple percussion instrument consistently available for our students.

Wind Instruments - Previously, we had 5 total saxophones - 2 bari, 1 tenor, and 2 altos. Those have been repaired recently and are all currently in working condition. However, I've had to have a "first come, first served" policy, especially with students who want to play saxophone. Getting 2 additional Alto Saxes and 1 additional Tenor Sax will make it possible for more students to branch out musically as well as improve the overall texture and sound of several bands. Additionally, the Piccolo is an instrument that flute players over the years have requested but I've never been able to provide. This will especially make a difference in Pep Band with carrying the melody as well as in filling out the sound of our Symphonic Band in a similar way.

Ukuleles - I recently started teaching Ukulele, and am looking at a bigger than usual class moving into 3rd grade, which is when I introduce them. This will not only fill out the sound (more low sounds from the Tenor and Baritone) but will also make it so that I have enough ukuleles for this larger class. 

 

3.  Can you share any particular challenges you currently face or have faced in the past as a music teacher so far? 

 

Yes - I will once again try to keep this concise, as it is a subject I am quite passionate about. Let me first start by saying that financially I have had a better than average situation for a Small School, as I've received grants, donations (such as yours!) and special funding from our current superintendent to be able to purchase and maintain our instruments. However, my main challenge and struggle all 7 years that I've been teaching here is keeping students in Band. We currently have a schedule that prohibits High School Students from taking Band Class due to other graduation requirement classes being during the same period. I have had no luck so far in creating effective change that would lead to a change in the schedule that would allow more flexibility for students to take Band.

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Instruments Donated: 

Concert Toms Pearl 

Suspended cymbal 

Tenor Sax 

2 piccolos 

2 concert snare drums 

2 alto Sax 

16 Castanets 

3 ukuleles 

Ukulele cases