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It Ain't Over

This morning I received this email:

 

Dear Howard County Music and Arts supporters,

 

I urgently need your help regarding to the changes taking place that can jeopardize our wonderful music and arts programs.

During our numerous meetings with the Superintendent Dr Foose and her people from the Howard County Board of education, they have promised to us again and again that there will be no changes to the music and art programs. Then these promises turn into “we have not decided anything yet” malarkey. Unfortunately today it is becoming clear to us that they have yet again publicly lied to us all; for the past month they have been holding public meetings in various elementary schools to inform the parents about upcoming year and the changes that will be taking place.

Also it should be noted that Rob White's (Instructional Facilitator for Music) position vacancy has not been posted and neither has Mark Coates' (Coordinator of Fine Arts) position vacancy. Is there concern about what Superintendent Renee Foose is trying is planning on eliminating positions?

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Please please send emails and written mails to all the BoE and Dr Foose to remind us that we are still here, and music and arts are still VERY important for us before it is too late and before the actual voting takes place in early June. Today is the day and now is the time. Please act now as once the things are voted on it would be much harder to reverse.

Thank you for your contentious support to keep music and arts alive in HoCo for all of our students.

 

Kindly,

Ann Faust

HoCo Families for Music and Arts in our Schools

 

If you need the emails:

 

sandra_french@hcpss.org

janet_siddiqui@hcpss.org

cynthia_vaillancourt@hcpss.org

brian_meshkin@hcpss.org

ellen_giles@hcpss.org

ann_delacy@hcpss.org

frank_aquino@hcpss.org

Student Member: albert_corvah@hcpss.org

Superintendent: superintendent@hcpss.org

*****

 

It would seem that "disingenuous" is the word for the day. While telling concerned parents one thing, the school system is moving ahead doing quite another. If you care about music and arts education, please continue to make your voice heard. Even if this is not "your" issue, please take note of how this is being done and how parents and teacher are being treated. If it can happen with music and arts, it can happen again.

If parents do not get involved to assert their right to participation in the process, it will happen again.

Post Script:

Howard County Parents for School Music has announced the Howard County Music Teacher of the Year Award. This year the award goes to two teachers:

This year's Howard County Music Educators of the Year: Brent Flinchbaugh - THES Band and Strings Director ; Aimee Winner - HSES Vocal Music Teacher. Frank Owens, CLES Band Director, is this year's Award Finalist.

I think it is extremely fitting that these teachers represent elementary music: band, strings, and vocal/general--the very programs we are fighting to maintain.

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