jazz education


to the number of students we have partici- pating. To be fair, many of my students’ parents are working multiple jobs or odd hours just to stay afloat. The handful of parents I have talked to on the phone have been grateful for the opportunities and experiences that their children are offered through my program. I would love to see more of my parents taking an active interest in what their students are doing, coming to informational meetings, seeing how talented their students truly are with their own eyes.


Britney: Parental involvement is consid- erably the largest form of support for our school. Outside of general endeavors such as field trip volunteering and canned food donations during the holiday season, the parent community is present for nearly every school (and music) function that the students engage in. There are sev- eral committees of parents that meet on a monthly and weekly basis to plan and support school functions. Additionally, we host weekly segments of “morning cof- fee” where various parents can meet with select teachers of their students. Through these endeavors, the relationship between our school and families maintains a strong sense of openness and camaraderie.


Partnering With Local Performing Arts Organizations


Doug: Because we are an arts high school, we are fortunate to have partnerships with many fabulous local arts organiza- tions. The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO), UW-Stevens Point and UW-Madison to name just a few. It is a blessing and helps a great deal in this era of woefully inadequate funding. I am constantly searching for new opportuni- ties to collaborate with local arts-based organizations.


Ray: We enjoy a long history of partner- ships with arts organizations in the city of Milwaukee. Our students have benefitted greatly from these partnerships with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Flo- rentine Opera Company, Skylight Musi- cal Theater, Wisconsin Conservatory,


Wisconsin School Musician 39


UW-Madison, UW-Parkside, Carthage College and the NAACP. These organi- zations have made it possible for our stu- dents to attend and participate in musical endeavors and performances whose cost would normally exclude them. I am eter- nally grateful for these organizations.


Gina: I have partnered with The Wiscon- sin Conservatory of Music in the past to work with individual students on a weekly basis. That was a great resource for me, especially when teaching choir as a string teacher. I have also worked with the Mil- waukee Ballet to take my students to see performances of shows they may not have had the opportunity to see on their own.


Britney: Building prosperous and steady relationships with local arts organizations is still an area of continued exploration for our music department. In the first few years of me holding my position, we were able to collaborate with the Present Music Ensemble, whose musicians would come


during the winter semester to mentor and create original pieces of music with our junior high-level students. Although this venture became too large of an expense, it was a fortunate experience to have the support and influence of a local arts-based organization. While we have a great amount of staff and parent connections to such organizations as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Marquette Uni- versity and The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, it would be wonderful to col- laborate with said entities in a way that would enrich the students as well as our program.


Grants


Doug: I have not had any luck in landing any large (over $5,000) grants to date. We have received several smaller (under $5,000) grants that provide a great deal of supplemental fiscal support. As you know,


Continued on page 40


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