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District launches music expo series to showcase high-school performing arts for elementary and middle students
Summary
Manatee County schools presented a new Music Expo series, funded by the district's arts millage, that brought thousands of elementary students to high school performances to promote visual and performing arts enrollment in secondary programs.
District officials described a new Music Expo series at the Dec. 10 School Board meeting that brought thousands of elementary students to several high school performing arts programs in November and will continue with middle school events in January.
Tiffany Spradling, director of secondary curriculum, and the district's visual and performing arts specialists summarized the initiative and credited arts millage funding for transportation and coordination. "The music expo is an opportunity for our high school students and high school programs to showcase performing arts opportunities for elementary and middle school students," Spradling said.
District presenters said events included Braden River High School (featuring a state- and nationally recognized wind ensemble and the state-champion marching band), Parrish Community High School (hosted about 830 elementary students), Manatee High School (hosted more than 700 elementary students), Bay Shore High School and Palmetto High School. The presenters described strong student reactions and positive teacher feedback from post-event surveys.
Ria Skaggs, the district's visual and performing arts specialist, and Ricardo Robinson Chenal, recently hired from Braden River High School, said the expos aim to increase arts enrollment by showing younger students multiple music and performance ensembles (band, chorus, jazz band, strings and color guard) and explaining pathways into high-school arts programs. "They realized they could do more than one thing when they got to high school," Robinson Chenal said, summarizing students' questions about rehearsal time and program options.
Presenters said Braden River's marching band won the Class 2A state championship on Nov. 16, 2024, and noted the broader role of arts in building student skills. The district plans middle-school expos in early January and later will add two more high-school-hosted events.
Board members welcomed the report and asked staff to confirm middle-school scheduling and to invite board members to upcoming events. The district said it will survey participants and continue to use arts millage funding to offset logistics costs.
(See provenance for transcript excerpts.)
