Because this can happen to any of our band programs....
This is from Mr. Keith Sailor, the current SWD Band boosters president:
We need you help!!! The new superintendant is attempting to shut-down the music department in Dekalb County to reflect the system in Ohio from which she came. In less tham 1 year she has suspended all programs and misrepresented our community to the rest of the country. Dr. Atkinson (the
superintendant) has launched an investigation attempting to tie our marching band programs to the hazing incident in Florida. She has fired Mr. Roberts, the only coordinator in the school system with a successful record. She has stated more tham once she has to control the band programs and their parents.
Join us Monday at the county office to ask the school board to remove Dr. Atkinson from office before anymore damage is done. This is our community, lets not let someone that don't know us come here and change our great music programs and comminity. IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY!!!
You can e-mail Dr. Atkinson at cheryl_atkinson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us if you can't be in attendance at their school board meeting on Monday evening....
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Time out, flag ON THE PLAY!
DAMNNN HELL FAWK NAWLL IF DEKALB DOES THIS IT WOULD BE THE WORST THING EVER IN HISTORY........OMG HOW CAN THE BD LET THIS HAPPEN THEY TRUELY DNT CARE NOMRE........
Wait.....Don P got fired?!?!?!?
Does this superintendant know ANYTHING about the band programs in atl and how successful they have been or she just looking at the hazing situation and fear that it will get that bad in dekalb county cause i honestly dont think it will get THAT bad in high school...she's going alittle to far half of these kids that all they kno is to live eat shit breathe music...I wouldn't take that away
If the Dekalb county school bands are shut down or transformed it would be the death of showbands nationwide
This is an example of ignorance at its best. It will be up to the ATL community ti stand up and fight for their band programs. Dekalb county has always had strong marching and symphonic band programs. I hope some how her eyes are opened to the damage she is causing.
Grammar...
I don't have the words right now..........well I do but they would show a totally different side of me and place me totally out of character ............. If I wasn't in the mist of moving I would drive home and attend the meeting.....this is totally unacceptable! She really is messing with the wrong ones. She has no idea the positive things that come out of our band programs. I know of kids that band as saved from gangs and other criminal behavior. Kids who because you must maintain your grades started to perform better in school. And its not just the kids, the band booster do ALOT of work too. Those parents bust their ass right along with their kids making sure not only their child the band as a whole has what they need.
IF she wants to go after something then go after improving the graduation rate, improving test scores or better yet stop furlowing the damn teachers, social workers, principals etc. This is the damn problem, people always worried about the wrong damn thing. Pissed
I emailed the following to your superintendent:
"
I've heard from the web that you plan on closing down your county's music department. You should NOT do that.
Coming from a school in Kentucky where DIDN'T have a music department, I know firsthand the issues that stem from that lack of the arts in school. It put students who have inherent music talent in a sticky situation--because they can't foster their music ability appropriately while forced to be in the school system, they will be more likely to reject other areas of study as protest.
Is that what you want? Lowered test scores in all other areas: Math, Social Studies, Science, etc.? That means less funding for you.
Just because I go to a university in Louisville doesn't mean I don't I have reach. I'm happily a piano pedagogy major, and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find musicians from your county and convince them that it would be a good idea to flunk their standardized testing as protest to your takedown of the music department.
Just so you know, if you do go ahead and get rid of the department, YOU are contributing to the degradation of American culture, and as such will be regarded as a denizen in the United States to the whole of the music community. And I'll make sure EVERYONE knows about it.
And if your students are misguided and that's not what tonight's meeting is about, apologies for this rather rash email. Either way...
...please, do the right thing. And then we can be friends! :-)"
So I hope that helps, and take my idea of protesting seriously! She won't like that (that is if you are indeed funded based on standardized testing scores. I honestly have no idea if you are or not.)!
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