Middle School Campus Would Create More Opportunities for Student Musicians: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Caitlin Lucci, a District 112 middle school music teacher.

“Ding-ding-da-ding...SCHWOOM….ding-ding-da-ding clank clank.” No, these extremely loud rhythmic, metallic sounds are not coming from middle school music students hard at work composing original found sound projects. Instead, it is the maintenance men working on the frighteningly massive, absolutely archaic boiler in the mechanical equipment room across the hall from my classroom. Unfortunately this distracting, intrusive racket is just part of a normal day at Elm Place Middle School. Buildings and Grounds crew members consistently patch over the patches on our aging facilities just enough to keep us afloat.

As a general music teacher in North Shore School District 112 for the past ten years, my students and I are well-versed in making the best of these less than ideal conditions. Even so, I am giddy about the idea of working at a brand new, state-of-the-art building. Among its many educational benefits, the middle school campus would provide fifth grade music students an actual performance space. Instead of cramming the current elementary musicians and audience members into a small gym with only a few general light switches and a microphone, the new middle school will have an air-conditioned auditorium with full stage lights and a sound board.

This improved space will result in more frequent, higher quality opportunities for students (behind the scenes and on stage) at an earlier age than they currently have access to. The new configuration model also would create regular opportunities for me to collaborate directly with my music colleagues. Currently I am the only person who teaches general music in my building, and months can go by between in-person meetings with other music teachers. This teacher collaboration directly benefits students due to the wider perspective gained on curriculum planning, student engagement and assessment.

As a district employee I am part of the “community partnership committed to a world-class education” referenced in our district’s mission statement. I do not believe it was the intent of the 2010 Strategic Plan committee, whose members spent countless hours philosophically debating and carefully wordsmithing the vision of education in this community, to imply the world-class education may be delivered in sub-par facilities or is only for certain pockets of Highland Park students. Instead, the rest of the mission references “every child” becoming a contributing member of a global community. How can that happen if facilities are falling apart or certain programs are cut down the road due to lack of funds?

This is a historically-significant time where reconfiguration plans are no longer merely a far-off speculation. Like Sam Cooke soulfully croons, “a change is gonna come” and it is approaching with increasing speed. Therefore, I urge every single Highland Park resident to attend an upcoming Community Conversation in order to hear facts directly from district leadership. It is imperative that residents are factually informed on the issue of NSSD112 consolidation so we can do what is best for all our students.

Sincerely,

Caitlin Lucci