Students, teacher and parents urge Yakima board to keep middle-school percussion and intermediate band

At the Yakima School District board meeting on May 20, a series of students from Lewis and Clark Middle School and a district elementary music teacher urged the board not to eliminate intermediate band, the percussion ensemble or the teacher position currently held by Mr. Beam.

"With a 100 students confirmed for beginning band next year, one class is simply too large," said Samuel Garduno, a Lewis and Clark student, arguing that providing two beginning-band classes would allow better instruction and avoid fire-code capacity problems he said arise when rooms rated for 85 are asked to hold more students. Multiple students echoed concerns about class size, student stress and the loss of an intermediate band that serves students who are beyond beginning but not ready for advanced band.

Joanna Vargas, a Lewis and Clark student, told the board Mr. Beam "pushes his kids to be the best" and said removing his position would damage the percussion ensemble that she and others credited with helping the district earn superior contest ratings for years. "Percussion is a heartbeat to every band," Riley Palmer said, describing percussion as a separate ensemble that builds skills and community.

Deborah Murphy, an elementary music teacher at Ridgeview, urged the board to reconsider any proposal to remove music from the district curriculum and cited published research she said links music education to higher achievement and social-emotional benefits. "Moving music education out of the district curriculum will prove detrimental to students' participation and compliance in the classroom," Murphy said.

Superintendent Green thanked the students and said the district would provide a written response within a few weeks. He also invited interested students to the superintendent student advisory council, which meets several times a year and includes secondary-school representatives.

The board did not take an immediate vote on any staffing or program changes at the meeting; members said they would review comments and return with a response.