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Parents and band director praise record year; parent raises concern about reassignment of assistant director
Summary
Band director Virginia Hernandez described a record year for Griffith’s middle- and high-school bands; a parent asked the board to reconsider moving assistant director Mr. Sanchez to another school, saying his work supports competition and growth.
Virginia Hernandez, band director for Griffith Public Schools, told the board the district’s band program had a record year with multiple gold and silver ratings, a gold rating at IISMA, and the program’s first ISMA All-Music Award for the high-school band.
Hernandez said curricular changes that began in middle school led to improved retention and higher skill levels at the high school. She credited coordinated after‑school rehearsals, including additional work by assistant director Mr. Sanchez, for helping students prepare across overlapping extracurricular events.
During public comments, parent Sandra Yasco said she was “really disappointed” to hear Mr. Sanchez was being reassigned to Barriger (Barriger Elementary). Yasco told the board she considers him an important asset to the junior–senior high band, citing student progress and competition success. “He is so good at what he does working with the high schoolers,” she said in public comment.
The board acknowledged the public remarks and said staff would follow up. Hernandez said the program will continue its graduation-pathway and professional experiences for students and noted strong participation in beginning-band recruitment for the coming year.
No formal personnel action was taken on the record at the meeting; the parent comment was part of the public comment portion of the agenda and the board said it would respond via follow-up email.
