Interview with Class Instructor

Date and Length: 2/23/2022 Approximately 58 Minutes

Interview Questions: 

1. How long have you been teaching at this location?

2. On average, how many 8th grade students go on to play in high school.

3. According to your surveys, what are the top 3 leading causes for 8th graders to drop band once they leave middle school. 

4. How many students do you currently have that are performing below their grade level? 

5. How many students do you have that perform above their grade level? 

6. What steps are you personally taking to prevent 8th grade dropout rates? 

7. Do you believe that my idea of providing individualized lessons to these students will benefit them? 

8. What do you think could better prevent students from dropping band after middle school? 

9. When will these students begin their high school provided lessons? 

The goal of my service-learning project is to provide students who are performing above their grade level with more difficult and individualized lessons outside of their regular class periods and hopefully decrease dropout rates between the 8th and 9th grade.  While conducting my interview with the classroom instructor, I discovered that students who plan to join band in 9th grade begin taking private lessons at the high school in June. This is the same month that they begin working on their marching band music and drill.  This year, they are set to begin lessons on June 13th. Because of this, I will be continuing my services twice weekly until they begin their other lessons. The current teacher has been at this school for 12 years and has discovered that among an average of 7 students that drop band between 8th and 9th grade, 4 drop because they do not feel challenged and become bored. On average, there are normally around 58 students in the 8th grade band. Around 12 students tend to struggle and perform below grade level and 7-9 students perform above grade level. The top three causes for dropout over the span of 12 years have been loss of interest/ boredom, lack of funds, and limiting to 1 sport/activity. The class instructor is currently using more difficult music to allow "star students" to shine and be challenged while other students are giving "watered down parts better fit to their playing levels." After proposing my idea of individualized lessons for these "star students" the instructor expressed excitement and was able to provide several suggestions such as working on musical skills that will be required once these students reach high school. Sadly, because so many students are performing at or below their desired skills, the instructor has not been able to introduce more difficult scales to this class. This will likely be the first concept that I introduce to my private students. 

Since each student has a school provided Chromebook, I will be providing lessons via zoom twice a week on evenings that work best for the students. Each "star student" has been given permission papers to take home for their parents to look over and sign so that we can begin lessons. Regular virtual meetings will be held with the classroom instructor to gauge progress and discuss other possible strategies as the semester progresses. I will also be in contact with the local high school instructor to determine which skills will be most desired and what concepts should be heavily focused on to ensure that these students will thrive in the high school band.