Tips That Click Phi Beta Mu
Recruiting and Retention (Part One)
“You can’t teach an empty chair” is a piece of advice I have heard many times in my career. Several attribute the quote to Lassiter High School director Alfred Watkins, and if you know Alfred, you are well aware that he has never suffered for a lack of chairs AND eager students to fill them! The focus of the next two installments of Tips That Click will be recruiting and retention. Several experienced directors have volunteered information that should help us all in our efforts to build successful programs.
Terry Ownby is the Director at Muscle Shoals Middle School, (as well as serving ABA as Recording Secretary) and has long had one of the largest and most viable programs in the state. His recruiting approach is a team effort of all the directors in the program and LOTS of parental involvement. “I think that we have to constantly “sell” our band programs in the community where we teach. I am always looking for ways to get our band program out of the band room and into the community. We perform at home middle school ballgames, and a couple of basketball games in the Fall along with 2 concerts. When we recruit our fifth graders, we bring them 3 classes at a time to the band room, and use the King Music Assessment test and perform all the examples live with our directors. Once that is complete, we follow up with a parent meeting with all fifth grade parents and a full fifth grade class meeting with the counselor and Principal. We try to go over within a week of those meetings and have the Symphonic Band and Middle School Jazz Bands perform for the entire elementary school student body. The concert is fun, fast paced, and engages the students. About a week after this concert, the forms are turned in to preregister for the next school year. We normally get
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“You can’t teach an empty chair”
about 30-35% of the grade enrollment in band the next year.” As for keeping them involved in future years, Terry elaborates: We stay involved with the kids throughout the school year and work to keep them engaged in what’s going on. When we get enrollment figured for the next year I spend time one on one with kids who aren’t signed up. Also spend time talking with parents about benefits of band and keep them involved in the activity. We normally lose 15-20 kids a year to normal attrition but gain 10-15 new 7th and 8th grade beginners each year.”
Larry Cornelius served the Auburn City Schools as a junior high director for over 10 years, teaching primarily at Auburn Junior High School. The success of this program is legendary and goes back to a foundation laid many years ago. Larry described some of the keys that have long made the recruiting for this program so effective. “There are two things in particular that immediately come to mind. When it was almost time for the students to sign up for electives for the next year, we would always do a recruiting concert for the upcoming class that would
May/June 2011
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