Parents Pressure South Orange-Maplewood To Add Music Teachers

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Citing their desire to see no high school music student is left behind, the Columbia High School Music Parents’ Association (CHSMPA), is asking the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education to add more staff for the music program.

“Over 230 students were shut out of music classes this year, which is unfortunate,” said Yvette Holowczak, CHSMPA co-president. “The district just invested in creating a state-of-the-art music tech lab, yet 113 students weren’t able to take the course. It’s just impossible for three music teachers to cover the number of classes needed.”

Holowczak said her organization wants more staff because there are only three directors – one each for various band, orchestra, and chorus programs, plus music theory and music tech – for nearly 700 students, which is more than 32 percent of the school population. CHSMPA is asking the district to bring on an additional two full-time and one part-time instructors, which would put CHS on par with high school music programs in neighboring towns, such as West Orange.

“CHSMPA strives to ensure that every student has an instrument to use in school, but only the Board and the Superintendent can enable students to access their desired music activity – which currently isn’t possible without additional faculty,” said CHSMPA Co-President Jennifer Muesel. “Being part of a music program helps students connect to each other and their school, and can boost their achievements in other academic areas.”

In just the past few years, CHSMPA has purchased and donated a plethora of instruments to CHS, including a baby grand piano for the choir room; multiple cellos, basses, and violins; a xylophone; headsets for use backstage at events; a new quality sound system for the band room, and more. Since 2017, the organization has raised and spent more than $30,000.

“We are fortunate to have three extremely talented music directors who are passionate and committed to the students at CHS," Holowczak said. "With more support they could not only teach more students, but also seek their own professional development which in turn helps enrich our programs even more.”

For more information, visit www.chsmpa.org.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.