With the close of the school year and the resignation of both of Worth County's music teachers, the administration has decided to go a different direction, combining the two music teaching positions into one. The stated goal is to make the best possible use of taxpayer dollars, given that both positions required a lot of electives to make the teaching positions full-time. The school says that flexibility will not be affected given that there will still be a music elective unit at the end of the day along with distance learning, independent study, and other opportunities. "We want to be able to help any student who has a passion for music who wants to pursue it," Superintendent Dr. Matt Martz told the Express in March. "That is not going to change."
Anytime an institution makes major changes like that which don't necessarily have the support of the whole community, the administration and board have an obligation to do whatever it takes to make the changes work. That means using some of the cost savings from these changes to give the new teacher the resources they need in order to succeed.
We went to some of the Northwest Missouri State football games even before they became good. In 1993, the university decided to fire Bud Elliott, whose team, at 3-8, did not do as well as hoped. One of their losses was to Southwest Baptist, who won their only game of the year against the Bearcats. Numerous fans and some of the players protested the firing of Elliott, who was well-liked in the community. The university, therefore, had an obligation to do whatever it took to support his replacement, Mel Tjeerdsma. To their credit they did; after a rocky start in which Mel's first team went 0-11, the Bearcats rose to become the powerhouse it is today. The university vastly expanded the stadium and facilities, put in lights for the first time, and set up the Fall Classic at Arrowhead for a number of years, featuring the Bearcats and Pittsburg State, the MIAA football powerhouses.
The Worth County school board and administration needs to do something similar with its music program. The music program has been one of the top strengths for Worth County. Given our declining population and enrollment, the school is one of the marketable assets that we have. The school needs to get feedback from parents, teachers and former teachers, and students and former students about what is good about the program along with what can make an already good program even better. In order to reverse our population decline, we can't do the same things other schools do; we have to be able to offer something that other schools are unwilling or unable to do.
Both teachers who are leaving, Stephen Till and Alysa Kramer, set high expectations for their students and got them to develop relationships that will last long after graduation. In doing so, they continued a long tradition set by people who went before them such as Jim Spiers, Joanna Healy, and Kenneth Thompson. The recent performances of both the Instrumental Spring Music Concert and the Vocal Concert showed the high level of performance that our students are capable of showing in the right hands. It is our hope that the new teacher will be able to follow in those footsteps and continue the high levels of success for the music program.
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