Pennsbury School Board Faces Backlash Over Music Program Changes

Parents, students, and music educators packed the Pennsbury School Board meeting last month to raise alarm over changes to the middle school schedule that significantly reduce choir rehearsal time compared to instrumental music classes.

The proposed schedule changes look to accommodate new school start times and enhance academic interventions, but many speakers argued the plan unfairly impacts the vocal music program.

The schedule changes were initially developed to address several goals, including adapting to new school start times, increasing English language arts instruction in eighth grade, expanding world language offerings, establishing dedicated intervention periods, and incorporating new science standards, officials said.

Under the revised plan, chorus was moved to the “opportunity period” that occurs once in a six-day rotation, while band and orchestra remain as regular electives meeting every other day throughout the year.

“The proposed schedule allows choir teachers to rehearse 30 minutes every six days, uninterrupted,” said Jay Chung, a 16-year music teacher for the School District of Philadelphia and Pennsbury parent. “A typical math class will meet 80 minutes every other day or every day. That’s 480 minutes every six days versus 30 minutes of choir every six days.”

Chung added, “Music teachers show students that if they work hard in practice they can overcome challenges. More importantly, teachers show students that they have the potential to succeed at something even when they may be struggling in all parts of their life or all parts of school.”

Several middle school students also addressed the board, including Dean, an eighth-grade percussionist from Falls Township who goes to Charles Boehm Middle School.

“The change to electives will cause students in the music program to not have access to the same electives as other kids do,” the teen said. “I feel this is unfair and this punishes students for being a part of music programs.”

“Over the course of a year, chorus will receive approximately one-fifth of the time the instrumental programs meet,” said Lindsay Hamilton, a parent of Pennsbury students from Lower Makefield Township. “I find it impossible to imagine how the same curriculum and content can be taught to our students when their contact hours are so dramatically reduced.”

If you don’t give students this opportunity not only will you hurt your vocal music program at the middle school and high school levels, but you will wind up hurting the students who benefit from it,” said Colleen Court, a Yardley parent with a bachelor’s degree in music education.

Many speakers noted the importance of music education for students’ emotional well-being and academic success.

Jeremy Darrington, a Falls Township parent, said the changes will impact instrumental and vocal music programs. He said changes will impact the high school’s music enrollment going forward.

“This is the time for kids to explore,” he said of kids’ learning different music education.

Laura Abercauph spoke against the plan, and her daughter, Leila, a high school student, spoke of how the program in the middle schools helped prepare her for musical education in high school.

“I’m concerned that shortening these programs to once a week, every other week will take away from retention of the repertoire and the emotional growth that comes with all of the music that is performed,” Leila said. “I ask that you reconsider this.”

Caleb Trezise, who works at Pennwood and William Penn middle schools, acknowledged the administration’s efforts to address declining chorus enrollment, but he expressed concerns about the current proposal.

The music educator requested at least two choral rehearsals in the six-day rotation, which would increase choir instruction from 16 percent to 33 percent of school days. It is still less than the 50 percent instrumental music receives.

Trezise said he was concerned about the future of the choral program and the education of students in the changes take place.

Several board members expressed support for reconsidering the schedule changes.

Board member Donna Ahrens, who took chorus in school, said she loves the district’s music and drama programs. She added that the arts are important for students and she agreed that administration “need to reevaluate” the schedules.

“I think we have to do something here,” she said.

Board Vice President Josh Waldorf, who identified himself as a former concert choir group president, asked if it would be possible to schedule choir twice a week.

District administration confirmed that additional choir time is possible but would have consequences for other priorities established by the schedule committee.

“Based on that, could you do it? Yes, you could do it. But you would compromise your interventions,” Pennsbury’s Assistant Superintendent of Administration Kristopher Brown said. “There’s a number of things within the schedule that could be pulled back to make that happen. There would just be consequences to the decision.”

The schedule changes were first presented to the full middle school staff in January and there were communications to parents and families in February explaining student elective choices. The course selection window opened shortly after.

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