MUSIC FOR EVERYONE: ELIMINATE THE MARCHING BAND PREREQUISITE AT FAIRVIEW HIGH SCHOOL (Boulder, Colorado)

I love jazz but I'm not going to do marching band in order to be in jazz band. I was denied an exemption, so I'm not doing music at Fairview.

My son did the camp and decided he would rather use his time in other ways (study, [sport] team, etc.). However, he is a talented musician (one of the main reasons he did not like marching band was the simplicity of the music) and would like to take advantage of the other music opportunities offered at FHS. IMO this situation is akin to telling every student that unless they play football, they cannot take any Physical Education classes. Total BS! [redaction to protect youth identity]

Coming from a very positive band experience in middle school I was shocked to see the community of Fairview band. I was one of two kids who had sports exemption from participating in marching band who still participated in concert band. The two of us were bullied and ostracized by the marching kids in the class, seemingly by encouragement from Mr. Keller. Mr Keller created an exclusivity in his band and had a general attitude that if you didn't march you weren't worth his time. He tried to force competition between the kids in the name of practicing more, which had the effect of taking all of the joy out of music for me. Probably the most ridiculous conversation, that I had daily with Mr Keller or other students was: why aren't you marching this semester? Keep in mind I was recovering from a knee injury, freshly out of surgery, and on crutches for three months straight. At first I would laugh at them and point to my crutches. To that, they all suggest that I come to watch and learn so I can jump right in next year. Because paying the marching fees to sit on cold bleachers for hours and hours after school sounded exactly like what would help me recover from my injury! I understand that marching band has been a wonderful experience for many students in Fairview, and I would never suggest that the marching band end. The process of Mr. Keller's tiered access to music at fairview has to stop. Marching band is not for everyone and it is not worth turning away students who simply want to do multiple things with their time in high school. Kids should be able to have music in their lives without it having to be their entire life.

I have no experience with the FHS band program but I believe public education needs to focus on providing opportunities for all students. I don't believe onerous marching band requirements should prevent someone from participating in other school band programs (ie jazz bands).

Our daughter loved music class until she got to high school and had to choose between music and sports.

I am not in the music program, nor have I applied for it, but I am a musician on my own. I know and understand the commitment it takes to learn and improve, and feel that obliging students to participate in so many practice hours adding on to the already-intense academic, sport, and band program stress is extremely unfair. It would limit the amount of free time a student would have, and could affect mental health quite adversely. This is why my peers and I believe that this requirement should be taken away.

A lot of my friends have been forced to not be able to participate in other activities and sports because of marching band (like ultimate and mtb competitions).

I feel that this petition has perfect timing. If Fairview's first priority is creating a community of belonging then each student must have the opportunity to participate in music in whatever way suits that student not the marching band competition driven curriculum.

My students aren't interested in music activities, but some of their friends who are interested have been rejected when they've asked the requirement to be waived. It seems like some sports qualify for waivers and others don't and that seems unfair. When I was in high school, I myself withdrew from participated in music activities because band was required and I hated the band experience. I didn't get to march because I played xylophone, I hated standing outside in the cold, and I was miserable. If I'd had an option to participate without doing band, I would have jumped at that chance.

3 years ago Featured

My daughter was unable to play [instruments] in the jazz band because she chose mountain biking over marching band. I spoke with Travis Keller about his policy at the time. He is a prime of everything wrong in high school music programs which deter students from becoming well rounded people. [redaction to protect youth identity]

My sons both enjoyed music in middle school, but chose not to continue music in high school because of the crazy all-or-nothing policy of the marching band requirement. That is like saying well, you cannot take gym class unless you play a varsity sport. Yes, its as ridiculous as it sounds. School is for learning and growing, and everyone should have the opportunity to take a band class without any extra-curricular commitment of time or money.

My son has played music since kindergarten and enjoyed it in middle school. He went in the spring and decided that he did not want to do marching band. Because of this, even though he has a heavy load of classes and is on the mountain biking team, he was denied the ability to play music in school. Absolutely awful to block students who want to participate in music. marching band should not be a requirement since it doesn't work for all students for a variety of reasons.

I have experienced a high volume of similar complaints from both students and parents that I know in our neighborhood and on other FHS sports teams

My son opted not to do band due to the marching requirement. He would have liked to do it or an ensemble otherwise.

I know many students who love playing their instrument, but give up music due to the marching band requirement. As a parent of a student in orchestra, I know how important music is for his mental and personal growth. I can't imagine putting him in a position in which he must choose between his love for music and his love for other extracurriculars, including high school sports.

Our son wasn't allowed to participate in Jazz Band due to not participating in marching band. The band director wrote a letter to Boulder Youth Symphony asking them to also not allow him to participate since he wasn't participating in high school band. He was involved in several other sports which interfered with marching band which is why he chose to not participate

I broke my arm during my freshman year of highschool and was still required to be in marching band. I had a cast made so that I could still play but it was pretty uncomfortable. In addition, I told the director at the beginning of the year that I would miss finals for my uncle wedding and was encouraged to stay with a friend and skip the wedding with or without my parent's permission to make finals. This was a large part of why I stopped playing an instrument.

Our child loves being in the marching band, but the commitment is intense and not for everyone. We want all FHS students to be able to have fun and grow as musicians. In our experience, the band director tends to be inflexible.

The requirement causes our family a lot of unnecessary stress during marching band season.

My youngest son played trumpet in middle school and we wanted him to continue playing music in high school like his older sister and brother did but we couldn't as a family meet the demands that the marching band imposes and so my youngest son had to stop his engagement with music. His older brother and sister open enrolled in [other school] and they both had wonderful times in the [other school] music program without the need for marching band. My youngest son couldn't open enroll in [other school] because of the pandemic (all of his friends were going to Fairview and he wouldn't have been able to make new friends via Zoom), so we were all disappointed when there was no other way for my son to participate in band at Fairview. Marching band should not be a requirement; there are plenty of kids who would participate in the FHS music programs if they didn't have to also play in marching band. [redactions to protect youth identity]