Thomas J. West Music

The band boosters at my first teaching job were the reason that there was still a band program for me to get hired for. Their advocacy helped me get band put back on the school day by the end of my second year there. Band parents organizations and other parent support groups for school music offerings can be extremely strong advocates for your program. They can also be the bane of a music teacher's existence.

What A Music Parents Support Organization Should and Should Not Do

I attended every meeting of my band boosters organization in the six years I taught at that school. Having direct contact with them was critical to the success of the program. It put out many fires before they occurred. It kept the lines of communication open. It instilled a sense of ownership in the music program for both the students and the parents.

These parent organizations can, if left to their own devices, begin to usurp responsibilities and powers that should never have been theirs to begin with. In schools with overgrown music parents organizations, music teachers can be hired and fired by their lobbying efforts, money can be embezzled, and other equally out-of-balance things can occur.

Parent organizations should:

1. Provide manpower for events (concerts, festivals, competitions, community fundraisers)
2. Assist with the public image of the music program (advertising, word of mouth)
3. Assist with advocacy for the program (including attending school board meetings when needed)
4. Assist with financial support for aspects of the music program that go beyond the curricular responsibilities of the school district, including the hiring of additional instructors with proper credentials and clearances
5. Keep accurate records of all meetings and transactions
6. Provide constructive feedback on the music program’s activities to the music teachers on behalf of their children and other parents, expecting that their feedback will be received with respect but not necessarily acted upon.
   

Parent organizations should not:

1. Be the sole source of funding for a music program (or in many cases, make up for the paltry $500 budget some music programs get from the district each year)
2. Dictate any aspect of the music curriculum to the professionals hired to teach it
3. Make decisions about uniforms, costuming, props, or other elements of public performance unless they have been specifically given those decisions to make from the instructional staff
4. Be an instrument of propaganda against any other student organizations at the school (sad, but I’ve seen it happen)
5. Be involved with the process of hiring a full-time music teacher unless invited to do so by the human resources department, etc.
   

In many cases, the music teachers have to teach the parents organization how to best support them. They want to help, but simply do not know how. It is imperative that the music teachers are directly involved with the governing officers of their parent group on at least a monthly basis.

The education triangle between student, teacher, and parent is critical to success in any subject area. We in the music education profession are blessed with parents who as a general rule want to be directly involved with their child’s experience in the music program. That, of course, can create challenges at times as well.

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