Dear Board Members,
I have been receiving a lot of information regarding your upcoming decisions on the following:
1. Eliminate 4th grade strings instruction.
2. Reduce middle school music staff by 1.53 positions.
3. Reduce music and related arts instruction time at the elementary school.
I would like you to know how important the current music curriculum has been for raising my children. Not only have they had the wonderful experience of learning and playing instruments in 4th grade, but have taken their experience well into their high school years and beyond.
My youngest was probably the worst violin player of her group when she started in 4th grade, but with the encouragement and patience that Jill Jensen and Carl Davick gave her, she now plays in the Chamber Orchestra. Jill Jensen is currently the director of the Silver Dimension helping to develop our 9th and 10th grade girls into a wonderful junior show choir that prepares them for the Silver Connection which is one of the best show choirs in southern Wisconsin. Because of teachers like Jill Jensen, Carl Davick and Lori Nahirniak, my daughter has learned and developed such a passion for music that she is going to major in music for college. You see its not always clear what our children will become, but providing them with opportunities made available from a program of excellence is what I think we all agree is the ultimate goal.
Yes, I do believe that our Monona Grove School District with its current music curriculum provides excellence. I support the existing music programs and hope that you all agree.
Thank you,
Deb Noltner
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To whom it may concern,
As a former student of the Monona Grove school district, I was completely appalled to hear that the orchestra program for 4th graders may be cut. Obviously with the economy, budgets need to be smaller and smaller every year, but why is it always the arts that are cut? Orchestra is not like band, where students can begin learning to play instruments in 6th grade. Offering students another area of knowledge is fundamental. Not all students are content with academics and athletics. Music and art is crucial to their lives as well. Playing violin is an essential part of my life, and I am not even majoring in music; I just do it for fun. If I hadn't begun playing in 4th grade, I would not have had those crucial two years of the violin. I cannot believe that upcoming students will not have the opportunity that I had. It makes me honestly sick to know that orchestra will not be offered to young students anymore. I really cannot believe this is the only way. Please think o f the students when you make the future budget decision. I truly hope orchestra can be saved.
Thank you for your time, Kristyn Armstrong
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Dear Board Members,
First, we are blessed to have a strong school district, with outstanding programs and faculty. Our communities are attractive to young families due to these programs, which include a very strong music and fine arts component. Anyone who attends the various music programs in the elementary schools of Monona (where my kids have attended) is aware of the tremendous dedication and talent which Jill Jensen brings to our schools. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious, as witnessed by the large number of participants in the 4th and 5th grade strings program.
As a leader and advocate for families in the Monona community, I urge you to temporarily close Maywood rather than considering major cuts to the elementary music program. As most of us know, Nichols was temporarily closed in the 1980s, leaving Maywood and Winnequah (the middle school) to accommodate the slump in enrollment. When numbers came back up, Nichols was reopened. That was a smart move then to save money, and clearly, the district has much to save now by managing our resources wisely. With Winnequah across the street from Maywood, the decision should be easy. Kids need a nurturing environment; better to have more staff in fewer buildings to insure that they get it.
Most importantly, we have an obligation to maximize the learning opportunities for our kids. Cutting quality programs diminishes the education our kids receive. Closing a school helps to maximize opportunities for these same kids, with no real negative impact. Let's spend our precious tax dollars on quality teachers and programs, and let's remind the community that we have temporarily shut down our elementary schools before, without our community falling apart. We need the board to provide leadership to help this community to understand and accept the tough choices.
I would rather pay higher taxes to maintain quality educational opportunities for the kids of our district. You are elected representatives of our schools, and I can assure you that many people want you to demand more money. We just cannot sustain quality schools without adequate revenue. So to be clear, we need more taxation to support the public services that we demand. Let's put the issue on the ballot. Families will reward your courage and leadership.
Thank you for your service to our communities. And thanks to Jill Jensen for making music such a positive and enriching experience for the elementary children of Monona.
Sincerely,
Chad Speight
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Thank you to Susan Fox, Superintendant Gerlach, and the school board for your honesty about the budget situation and your willingness to keep the public informed by placing information on the website. We have some terrible choices to make in the next few months, and I feel confident that you will make sound decisions, even though they will involve cuts that no one wants to see.
That being said, I am writing in support of Winnequah Music/Orchestra Teacher Jill Jensen. All three of my children are/have been students of Ms. Jensen. She is the kind of teacher that children remember and appreciate for the rest of their lives. She is a truly valuable asset to the school district. While I concede that our budget situation may result in parts of the elementary strings program being reduced, I believe that you must find a way to keep Jill Jensen’s position. Losing Jill Jensen is one budget cut that we can’t afford.
Leah Kimmell
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(photo ©2008 Bruce Fritz)
About Me
- Peter Sobol
- My family moved to Monona in 2003 and have been happily ensconsed in the Frost Woods Neighborhood ever since. I have 2 kids who graduated from Mg. I have been serving on the school board since April of 2007. We moved back to the Midwest in 2002 after spending 10 years in California, where I was a Department Director for Maxtor, a Fortune 500 company. In truth we left California largely because of the school situation - chronically underfunded schools did not offer the kind of programs or opportunities we wanted for our children. We picked Monona because our thorough research showed that this was a place we would really like to educate our kids. Our experience has taught us to value the quality schools we have here in Monona, and the importance of careful stewardship to maintain community support for those schools.
6 comments:
It's easy for those who do not have children at Maywood to suggest closing it, knowing full well their children received the benefit of the nurturing educational environment that is Maywood school. It has yet to be shown how Winnequah school can effectively be retooled to accomodate all Monona children 4K-6. Before making a knee-jerk reaction to close a school, let's have a plan that those of us who happen to love Maywood can live with. Perhaps that is why the issue is not on the list for cuts, as the planning and construction simply can't be done in time. The last thing we want is a rushed and sloppy transition.
Teachers and staff nurture, bricks and mortar don't.
What do you "love" about Maywood? I know what I loved - the staff. I'd rather save those staff members than that building which isn't any nicer than Winnequah. Maybe we need to make a reasonable choice that programs and quality of teaching matter more than Maywood.
A plan would have been great, but I think some people would have used it against the board (Look at this! so-and-so wants to close Maywood). I think the board was afraid to deal with this backlash over something that had a small chance of not being needed.
Even with a plan, we'd still be in the same situation we're in now. We have to decide what things we value least to cut.
I have one child in Maywood, and one who would go there in a couple of years, and am quite happy with the school. I believe I am most happy with the staff and not the building or its location. I see the cuts as a choice between these two, and hope the board chooses to close the building.
I can understand why people who live in a neighborhood or rural area get jazzed up when there is a threat to close a school nearby. But these buildings are across the street from each other! What is the big worry? That the little kindergartners will get cooties from those nasty fifth graders? Good grief - to any outsider this debate would look so ridiculous as to make them wonder if what is in the water around here!
Many of both the Winnequah staff and the Maywood staff have expressed support of the combination. In fact, I have heard many speak of the benefits of such a configuration.
Regarding all the letters supporting the music programs, what would they suggest be cut? I love and support the music programs but 1 million must go. None of the letters include suggestions.
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