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Orchestra director urges preserving 7th-grade electives, proposes fine-arts coordinator
Summary
Savannah Ritter, orchestra director, asked the board to drop a new requirement that incoming 7th graders take both art and PLTW, saying the rule would limit elective choices and depress music enrollment; she also urged creation of a fine-arts coordinator to protect programs amid staff changes.
Savannah Ritter, orchestra director at Benton Spring Garden, urged the board to preserve flexible scheduling for incoming 7th graders and to consider creating a fine-arts coordinator position to sustain music and arts programming.
Ritter said a proposed requirement that all incoming 7th graders take both art and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) effectively cuts the number of elective semesters from four to two, which she said previously reduced enrollment and retention in vocal and instrumental programs. "When 7th graders only had 1 elective, enrollment in vocal and instrumental music dropped," she said, adding that expanding electives previously led to higher participation.
Ritter described the workload staff take on to manage instruments and inventories and suggested a dedicated coordinator would ensure continuity through staff turnover. She also noted the cost barrier for families who would seek private lessons to catch up if students missed earlier musical training, citing a local private lesson cost of about $116 per month in St. Joseph.
Board members thanked Ritter for raising concerns and said they would keep fine-arts impacts in mind while making curricular decisions. No formal changes were proposed or voted on at the town-hall meeting.
