Our prestigious Instrumental Music program in Howard County Schools is in jeopardy. Proposed budget cuts are threatening to remove the 3rd grade strings program throughout the entire county. This will have a very significant effect on our students and instrumental programs at all elementary, middle, and high schools across the county.

• Elementary students will no longer have an opportunity for instrumental instruction in 3rd grade, which will result in students who are less prepared for band or orchestra in 4th grade and beyond.
• Elementary Schools across the county will lose strings teachers, with most positions slated to be a .5 position or below. The strings teachers at the following schools are slated for staff reduction: Atholton, Centennial Lane, Clarkesville, Dayton Oaks, Deep Run, Elkridge, Forest Ridge, Gorman Crossing, Hammond, Hanover Hills, Manor Woods, Northfield, Pointers Run, St. Johns Lane, Swansfield, Triadelphia Ridge, Veterans, Waterloo, Waverly, and West Friendship Elementary Schools.
• The musical integrity of the program at elementary schools will diminish and this will have a profound effect on the instrumental programs at the middle and high school levels.
• 3rd grade students will miss out on the opportunity to actively participate in opportunities for teamwork, cooperation, creativity, and community building through instrumental education.
• Research consistently supports the positive effect that music instruction has on academic performance. Students engaged in music often show improved cognitive skills, better concentration, and enhanced problem-solving abilities. Without the 3rd grade opportunity for string instruction, we are also jeopardizing academic achievement in our schools.

Music Education in HCPSS is not expendable. It is an integral part of what makes our county school system one of the most successful and revered in the country. By removing 3rd grade strings, which is the building block of the HCPSS instrumental music program, we are putting in jeopardy the entire HCPSS music community and the far reaching benefits that are a direct result of this program.  

We ask that you fully fund Music programs in all HCPSS schools and do not discontinue the 3rd grade strings program.