Mr. David A. Aulenbach, Randolph School District Music Supervisor, says, “Randolph has a long-standing reputation as being one of the most respected and strongest music programs in the state, and we are very proud of that fact.  With the support of the Board of Education and the Randolph community, we continue to work hard to give our students the very best music education possible.”

From the Music Educators National Conference:

The Value and Quality
of Arts Education

A Statement of Principles

We, the undersigned representatives of professional education associations, share a deep concern about the nature, role, importance, and future of arts education in the schools where our members teach, administer, supervise, and make and implement education policy.

We are unanimous in our agreement that all Americans who share our concern about the quality of education in general, and of arts education in particular (dance, visual arts, music, theatre), should understand the value of arts education for every child, and we encourage those who will work with us to enhance and support arts education in our nation’s schools. To that end, we invite all Americans, both within the professional education community and outside it, to join us in support of the following principles.

First, every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.
   This means that all PreK-12 students must have a comprehensive, balanced, sequential, in-school program of instruction in the arts, taught by qualified teachers, designed to provide students of all ages with skills and knowledge in the arts in accordance with high national, state, and local standards.

Second, to ensure a basic education in the arts for all students, the arts should be recognized as serious, core academic subjects.
   The arts should not be treated as extracurricular activities, but as integral core disciplines. In practice, this means that effective arts education requires sequential curricula, regular time-on-task, qualified teachers, and a fair share of educational resources. Similarly, arts instruction should be carried out with the same academic rigor and high expectations as instruction in other core subjects.

Third, as education policy makers make decisions, they should incorporate the multiple lessons of recent research concerning the value and impact of arts education.
   The arts have a unique ability to communicate the ideas and emotions of the human spirit. Connecting us to our history, our traditions, and our heritage, the arts have a beauty and power unique in our culture. At the same time, a growing body of research indicates that education in the arts provides significant cognitive benefits and bolsters academic achievement, beginning at an early age and continuing through school. (See appendix for supporting examples.)

Fourth, qualified arts teachers and sequential curriculum must be recognized as the basis and core for substantive arts education for all students.
   Teachers who are qualified as arts educators by virtue of academic study and artistic practice provide the very best arts education possible. In-school arts programs are designed to reach and teach all students, not merely the interested, the talented, or those with a particular socioeconomic background. These teachers and curricula should be supported by local school budgets and tax dollars, nurtured by higher education, and derive direct professional development benefits from outstanding teachers and trainers in the organizations we represent. Several national education associations identify the arts as essential learning in which students must demonstrate achievement. (Breaking Ranks, NASSP, 1996, Principal magazin e, NAESP, March, 1998.)

Fifth, arts education programs should be grounded in rigorous instruction, provide meaningful assessment of academic progress and performance, and take their place within a structure of direct accountability to school officials, parents, and the community.
   In-school programs that are fully integrated into state and local curricula afford the best potential for achieving these ends.

Sixth, community resources that provide exposure to the arts, enrichment, and entertainment through the arts all offer valuable support and enhancement to an in-school arts education.
   As a matter of policy or practice, however, these kinds of activities cannot substitute for a comprehensive, balanced, sequential arts education taught by qualified teachers, as shaped by clear standards and focused by the content of the arts disciplines.

Seventh, and finally, we offer our unified support to those programs, policies, and practitioners that reflect these principles.
   On behalf of the students we teach, the schools we administer and work in, and the communities we serve, we ask all Americans who care deeply about making the whole spectrum of cultural and cognitive development available to their children to join us in protecting and advancing opportunities for all children to receive an education in the arts.

Things that 5^th grade parents should know about the music program at the Randolph Middle School:

Nuts and Bolts (How it works)

1.                  Students miss one period a week for a group lesson 

A.     The lesson schedule rotates through out the school day so your child will not miss the same class two weeks in a row. 

B.     Students are excused from lessons if they have a test or quiz during their scheduled lesson.

C.     Students are expected to tell their lesson teacher about the conflict and every effort will be made to reschedule the missed lesson at a convenient time for both the teacher and the student.

D.     Students who experience difficulty in one particular subject area are encouraged to communicate with their lesson teacher and see if some other arrangement can be made to ease any concerns about a lesson during that period. 

2.                  All music students (band, choir, strings) will miss one day of PE/Health each week for the entire year.  This period (5^th or 8^th currently) is used as a rehearsal period for the musical ensembles.

3.                  All ensembles rehearsal one day after school – if your child wishes to be in both band and choir or strings and choir they will be required to attend two after school rehearsals each week. 

4.                  All after school rehearsals begin at 2:50 and end at 4:00.  Students can take the late bus home at 4:10 or can arrange to be picked up at that time.

5.                  There are NO before school rehearsals schedule for our grade level music ensembles.

6.                  The music staff at the middle school is flexible and understanding.  We are here to help your child grow and mature as a person and a musician and will work together with you and your child to make their experience in this build both educational and enjoyable.

7.                  In order to continue the growth begun in the elementary school we anticipate that your child will find time to practice the skills they are learning during their weekly lessons and ensemble rehearsals at home on a daily basis.

Benefits of playing/singing in and staying in the

Randolph Program (http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/12benefits.html):

1. Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.

2. There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.

3. Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer.

4. Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher grades in high school.

5. A study of the arts provides children with an internal glimpse of other cultures and teaches them to be empathetic towards the people of these cultures. This development of compassion and empathy, as opposed to development of greed and a "me first" attitude, provides a bridge across cultural chasms that leads to respect of other races at an early age.

6. Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student's own work, demand a new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources.

7. In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work.

8. Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. In order for a musical ensemble to sound good, all players must work together harmoniously towards a single goal, the performance, and must commit to learning music, attending rehearsals, and practicing.

9. Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression.

10. Music study develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on "doing," as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. Employers are looking for multi-dimensional workers with the sort of flexible and supple intellects that music education helps to create as described above. In the music classroom, students can also learn to better communicate and cooperate with one another.

11. Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential.

The Randolph Township Schools Music Department's Curriculum is based on the following National and New Jersey Standards.

National Standards for MUSIC K-12

1.      Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

2.      Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

3.      Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments

4.      Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines

5.      Reading and notating music

6.      Listening to, analyzing, and describing music

7.      Evaluating music and music performances

8.      Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts

9.      Understanding music in relation to history and culture

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Music

Standard1.1 The Creative Process: All students will demonstrate an understanding of the elements and principles that govern the creation of works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art.

Standard 1.2 History of the Arts and Culture: All students will understand the role, development, and influence of the arts throughout history and across cultures.

Standard 1.3 Performing: All students will synthesize skills, media, methods, and technologies that are appropriate to creating, performing, and/or presenting works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art.     

Standard 1.4 Aesthetic Responses & Critique Methodologies: All students will demonstrate and apply an understanding of arts philosophies, judgment, and analysis to works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art.

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