My name is Andrew Campo and I am the new band director at Cortez Middle School. At the middle school, we are growing at a great rate. We are bursting at the seams! This exciting situation has produced a bit of a dilemma. We are out of instruments and could use your help!
As Cortez residents, we rightly take great pride in the amazing success of our high school music program. I first heard of our excellent program years ago in Maine, of all places. Our vaunted program has achieved state and national success year after year, to the pride of us all. It could not be done without excellent teaching, hard work by students and parents, and most importantly the immense support of the Cortez community. The one thing all these amazing musicians have in common is that they began their musical career at Cortez Middle School. Today at CMS we are busy trying to produce musicians who will someday be the pride of Cortez as they compete for state championships in band.
Our program is growing by leaps and bounds. Our goal at the middle school level is to improve the skill level of our musicians and have fun at the same time. Ultimately, my goal is to teach life skills and help create intelligent, hard-working, ethical, moral young men and women through the intense study of instrumental music.
Research has consistently shown that music study leads to improved academic performance for students of all ages. In 2007, it was found that students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 19 percent higher in English and 17 percent higher in math than students in schools without a music program (Johnson, Memmott).
A UCLA study found that students who studied music and the arts had higher grades, scored better on standardized tests, had better attendance records and were more active in community affairs than other students (Catterall). In 1999, second graders from a low-income school in Los Angeles were given eight months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing with newly designed music software. These students, taking the Stanford 9 Math Test, went from scoring in the 30th to the 65th percentile. These second graders were performing sixth grade math (Neurological Research).
In 1996 Gardner et al. found that students of lower socioeconomic status who took music lessons in grades 812 increased their math scores significantly as compared to non-music students, and increased their scores in reading, history, geography and even social skills by 40 percent. In 2006, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 43 points higher on her math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts (The College Board).
At a time when we are all so rightly concerned with improving student achievement, band class is an excellent way to help our students excel. In order for our program to continue to grow and affect the lives of more of our youngsters, we need your help. We are running out of instruments! With the downturn in the economy, many parents simply cannot afford to purchase or rent an instrument for their child. Due to shrinking school budgets, we cannot afford to buy any more instruments for students to use. With new student model instruments sometimes now costing more than $1000, it is cost prohibitive for us to purchase all that we need. If we are unable to acquire more instruments, our program will not be able to build. We are asking for additional community support from one of the most supportive communities in the state!
Do you have an old instrument tucked away in the garage or attic? Would you be willing to donate it to the CMS band? Donations to schools can be tax deductible and would greatly benefit the children of Cortez. We will pay to have old instruments repaired and will put them in the hands of our deserving students. These instruments will be put to good use for years to come. We are especially interested in flutes, clarinets, saxophones and trumpets, but all band instruments are welcome.
Dont have an old instrument to donate but still wish to help? You could donate to our Buy A Tuba fund as we try to buy the most expensive of instruments.
As always, we greatly appreciate the amazing support of Cortez. Please direct any questions to me at acampo@cortez.k12.co.us or to 450 W. 2nd St., Cortez CO 81321.
Andrew Campo is director of the CMS instrumental music program.