International Kodaly Symposium

first with COVID, then followed by the utter devastation of the Bear and Dixie fires, have made the last few years quite a ride in our school district!

The good news is, we are in the process of flipping this distressing script in Plumas County. During my first year back in Plumas, in 2020, our goal was to encourage the few devoted music students we had left to keep progressing and enjoying their music. This included teaching zoom classes—band at all levels, ukulele, general music, and even AP Music Theory. Once every week or two, the one music teacher (me) would drive to each community to deliver reeds and instruments, and hopefully, tutor individual students outdoors, in person, whenever possible. As the shutdown eased, several community members who loved and missed music in our schools were able to help us begin paving the way for a resurgence of music in Plumas County.

During this crucial time, the district’s superintendent and assistant superintendent were very keen on helping us rebuild our music programs and listened carefully to our suggestions on how to accomplish this important task. Valuing music as educators and individuals and feeling encouraged and inspired by the legacy of the district’s great music programs of the past, they believed our assertion that the educational and cultural benefits of a comprehensive K – 12 music program were essential for our students, schools, and communities. Together, we formulated a multi-year plan to successfully rebuild these programs. Our first goal was to hire two more music teachers and invest in some badly needed equipment and instructional supplies. Now, we are in our second year of implementing this plan to have comprehensive K – 12 music programs in all four communities in our district and are well on our way.

It took us almost 18 months to find teachers, but now we have a team of three passionate, well-qualified music teachers who are working together to rebuild music in Plumas County. After only two years, we have grown from having a skeletal online offering for about 50 students, district-wide, to having an instrument in every 5th and 6th-grade student’s hands and general music classes being offered K – 4 in most of our elementary schools. In addition, all of our secondary schools have at least one thriving band class of 15 – 20 students, and two have both an intermediate and advanced band. Though enthusiastic, a majority of our students are only first- and second-year players, but over time these programs will grow into something wonderful. Two schools are also offering guitar and ukulele for those students who prefer these less traditional music classes. As of this fall, after only two years, total enrollment in our music program, district-wide, is somewhere around 720 students! In celebration of this collective effort, we have named our three music teachers, our amazing musical community members, and our wonderful, supportive administrators, #TeamMusic. We plan to get t-shirts made. The really neat part? Our district superintendent and assistant superintendent asked if we would make shirts for them as well.

Now, especially with the latest arts funding approved by the voters of California, we in Plumas County are very excited to see what the future will bring. It is our hope that you, our colleagues, are also faring well in your rebuilding processes, post-COVID; and that despite any challenges you might encounter, you are also finding great joy in bringing music to the children of California. These children are beautiful. They are deserving. And now—more than ever—they need music in their lives! As do we all!

Best Regards, Jane