I am not so naive to think that whatever success I had with my bands was all ME!  In my 40 years as an educator I was blessed to have a number of bright, talented people working with my students as support staff.  Perhaps….well okay, not perhaps….the greatest indicator of my students’ potential for success was based on the quality of the instruction they received at the elementary and middle school levels.  At one school, my program was able to play level 6 literature and consistently receive Superior ratings.  In that school system, the students had the opportunity to work with two fine elementary teachers and an outstanding middle school director, all of whom held them to the highest of expectations.  All I had to do was continue what they began, while adding my own instincts and level of expectations.

I wonder how many school systems even consider the relationship between all the music educators when they are hired?  In fact, do those hiring even have any clue about the relationship?  Do they consider that the “best candidate” according to their hiring system may, in fact, not be the “best candidate”?  Do they consider the need for the new hire’s educational philosophy aligning with that of the existing educators?   Now I know hiring is not a perfect science and certainly in today’s educational climate, things are even more challenging.  But I can assure you that having a weak teacher anywhere in the mix will dramatically impact the starting point for the next teacher in line.

Today, no every day, I encourage you to consider the value of having a systemic staff with consistent expectations and educational philosophy.  In truth, the likelihood of the HR department hiring with that in mind is pretty slim.  You could hope that somehow things will work out.  You could even wait for someone else to stimulate the conversation.  But if you really want to ensure students are prepared to move on to the next level, maybe YOU need to lead the charge.  Just sayin’!

Make Today a Magnificent Day!

Gary L Rupert

Culture Strategist/Coach

II:Leaders Creating:II Leaders

LCL Mentors @ Marching Arts Education