October 11, 2023
Dear Elementary School Parents,
I am writing to inform you of some upcoming changes to your child's music instruction schedule.
As you may know, we have had an open elementary music teacher position since last June of last year. Despite our best efforts to find a qualified candidate, we have been unable to fill this role. Music education is very important to us, so we have come up with a plan to make sure all students still get quality music instruction from a certified teacher.
Starting the week of October 25th, each elementary school will have a music class for 2 out of the 3 trimesters this school year. This schedule allows us to rotate our existing music staff between the schools to ensure every student gets music.
Here is what the rotation will look like:
Trimester 1 (Aug 30 - Dec 1): Music at MES, MTVES, WES
Trimester 2 (Dec 4 - Mar 8): Music at MES & RES
Trimester 3 (Mar 11 - June 11): Music at MTVES, RES, WES
During trimesters without music, students will have an extra technology class focused on tech projects as well as math and reading skills. Fifth-grade band will still be offered at every school all year.
We know this schedule is far from ideal. Our goal is to hire another music teacher as soon as possible. When we do, we will go back to the original music schedule. In the meantime, we believe rotating music teachers allows us to provide the fairest access to music education to all elementary school students in the district.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this challenge. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's principal.
Sincerely,
James Charette