Learning music right in river city

For the second year in a row, the Cape Girardeau School District has been named as one of the best communities for music education in America according to a survey by The American Music Conference.

"I think we deserve it," said Clippard Elementary School music teacher Debbie Kyle. "We really emphasize, not just having fun, but music education."

Central High School junior Kari Bragg, who is involved with band and orchestra, also said she thought Cape Girardeau schools were deserving of the distinction.

"There are so many extra curricular actitivies that you can be involved with," she said of the school's music programs.

Bragg pointed to band trips and the orchestra's trip each year to see the St. Louis Orchestra as incentives to stay in the school's music program. She also cited the instructors as a reason for the music department's success.

"They're really good at working with you individually, instead of having you get lost in a group" Bragg said.

This is the fifth year the "Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America" survey has been conducted by AMC, a national nonprofit education organization based in California that promotes the importance of music to the general public.

The survey list represents 30 states' school districts that AMC, along with other survey participants, determined are committed to quality music education.

Central High School music and orchestra director Steve Schaffner said the music program in Cape Girardeau has a lot to offer students thanks to tradition and a commitment by school administrators.

Currently the high school has about 350 students in the band program and over 200 in the string program, which he calls very healthy numbers kept up by tradition.

The school's orchestra program started in 1920, while the band was created about six years later.

"We have parents and grandparents who were a part of it and who would like to see it continue," he said.

Cape Girardeau was one of four Missouri school districts on the survey. The others were Liberty schools, Springfield schools and Nodaway-Holt schools in Graham.

Survey says

Results come from a Web-based survey that teachers, administrators, school board members, parents and community leaders in all 50 states participated in during January and February.

The survey included questions on funding, enrollment, student-teacher ratios, participation in music classes, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and participation in private music lessons.

Kyle took part in the online survey, which she said was fairly detailed. Some of the questions asked how many students were enrolled in classes, what is taught in classes and how high of a priority does the school district give the music program.

The sponsoring organizations that reviewed the online data were: the National Association for Music Education, the Mr. Holland Opus Foundation, the Music for All Foundation, the Music Teachers National Association, the National School Boards Association, Yamaha Corp. of American and VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

"I think it speaks well to the public that the music education in Cape is a respectable program," Kyle said.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

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