From 1996 until 2002, I taught at South Orange Middle School (SOMS) in South Orange, NJ. The community is about 20 minutes from New York City and many of the people who live there commute into the city for work. Teachers were paid well, highly respected and the arts were encouraged and supported.
I moved there after having taught in Greensboro, NC for the first five years of my career where I had didn't have most of those resources.
I definitely experienced culture shock, but I learned more during those 6 years about life and about teaching than I ever could have anticipated.
The school where I taught in NJ, SOMS, had an auditorium with a stage. If I asked for something, the administration and the parents were right there with me to help me make it happen. We did a musical the first year. I didn't expect to be paid for it. I just wanted to do it. In North Carolina, you did what you did and you got the salary you got based on your years of experience.
So, imagine my surprise when I walked into the final week of school and the school secretary said, "I have a check for you."
I was like..."For what?"
It was a check for nearly $5000 (...in 1997 mind you).
My mouth dropped open.
She said, this is what the teacher's union pays for music teachers to put on musicals.
Oh wow.
Ok...Thank you!
Being born and raised in the south, I had no idea unions were a "thing" that actually paid and supported their teachers and other employees.
Fast forward to August 2002. I had decided to move to the Atlanta area to be nearer to my family.
I was grateful to be hired where I currently teach...Henderson Middle School.
I assessed the building.
There was a cafetorium with a very small stage and very little lighting. There was some sound equipment.
When I arrived there, the choral program had about 80 students.
The cafetorium would be fine.
I included the entire chorus in my first spring musical program. We did "Once on This Island, JR." I had done the show in New Jersey, and it is one of my favorites. I knew I could give the students an awesome experience while I was still figuring things out in this new setting, and I knew I'd enjoy the process of teaching it.
The kids loved it.
The program grew exponentially.
Within two years, I had over 300 students.
We were performing "Dear Edwina" in the cafetorium with no stadium seating. It was standing room only. Parents could not see their children.
I knew we had to move to the gym.
Stadium seating...lots of room to move on the floor.
...But it's a gym.
People asked..."Why not rent a space at...."
...Because when you rent a space, you have to be in and out and pay a big fee.
These are middle school students. 90% of them are not young professional actors with parents paying for acting and singing lessons. Most of the kids in my shows can barely find "front". They need to rehearse where they perform.
They loved what I was offering...so I had to make it work. If these kids were showing up to rehearsals before school, they needed everything I had to offer.
I wasn't going to do a regular musical on a gym floor.
I decided we would do a musical revue fund-raiser for the chorus.
I picked a long medley of Grease for the chorus and the rest of the show was solos/duets/small group numbers for students who auditioned for me.
The only requirement was that I wanted them to sing songs from Broadway shows because I love that stuff.
I loved the new format.
I got a constructive email from a parent.
"I don't want to pay money ($5) to see other parent's children sing solos."
Ok. Got it!
And it grew from there.
Now, each year, I make sure to pick at least 4-6 large ensemble songs that include the chorus. There are very few actual "solos". There are many medium and small sized ensemble songs.
We start on it early in the year. I talk about it during the first weeks of school with the students. Auditions are in late September/Early October during class in front of their peers. Every child is accepted as long as they sing 60 minutes or less from a Broadway show (alone or with others). They also have to turn in a contract that lays down the criteria for the morning rehearsals and 4 Saturday rehearsals. I charge a fee to be a part of the show to cover the cost of the hired stage director and the choreographer. I want those fees to cover that so that the $5 cover charge each guest pays goes into the chorus budget.
I custom build the show around the talent I have that year, and I enlist the support of my top 8th grade students to help pick the music.
It's way better than selling wrapping paper or candles.
The relationships the kids develop and the lessons they learn are life-changing.
The reward I get from this process is what fuels my fire.
And after 28 years in the classroom, this happened Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 7:30 AM.
Our rehearsals happen one hour before the start of school. I don't want to interfere with the after school activities. If the students want to be there, they will show up.
And they do.
They don't drive cars, but over 130 of my 300 choral students "drive" their parents to get them there with their passion because they want to be a part of something exciting.
And it all happens in a gym.
Is it ideal?
No.
Would I like an auditorium that seats 1500?
Sure.
But the gym is there...so we make it work.
...And that's the story of a big piece of the puzzle of what cranks the engine of my choral music program.
I hope it helps stir some ideas for you.
