Sixth-grade students jump around as they listen to the Can-Can by composer Jaques Offenbach, with music teacher Christine Charlebois, right, at El Toro Elementary School Wednesday.
Talk about a class size issue. As the district's lone elementary music teacher, Christine Charlebois has 1,400 students, each of whom are expected to be enthusiastic about music after participating in a music class for just 35 minutes every two weeks. But if anyone can inspire, Charlebois can. The energetic 45-year-old bounds around a room of 20-something fifth and sixth graders explaining the intricacies of beats and timbers.
Last year, there were three elementary music teachers, but district layoffs in May pared it down to just Charlebois. At first, she didn't see how it was possible.
"I just thought, 'How?'" she said.
Then, she learned that Morgan Hill Unified School District officials were revamping the elementary music program from an hour each week of general and instrumental music instruction for fourth, fifth and sixth graders to simply general music instruction for fifth and sixth graders only. This was at the behest of music advocates like the Live Oak's Emerald Regime Band Boosters, who met with the district to come up with the revamped program after they complained that the elementary music program was turning students off to music at later grades, which they said was the culprit for low band numbers in high school.
Live Oak's Emerald Regime, the high school's crown jewel of a marching band that regularly wins regional awards, has fewer than 50 members, when about six years ago it had almost 150. The music program, even with three teachers administering it, just wasn't working: large classes left students bored and uninterested in music, Emerald Regime enthusiasts said.
The change, despite the fact that she's shouldering the work, has made all the difference, Charlebois said. Instead of changing campuses several times a day like she did last year, Charlebois stays put - relatively. The sturdy nomad visits about five classrooms on one campus each day.
At first, she was a whirlwind of instruments, lesson plans and campus maps, she said.
"I'm a turtle. I carry my house on my back," she said, laughing. "I told someone I felt like someone had strapped me down to a tornado. A few weeks later, I told her, 'This tornado is actually really fun. I've got the best view in the whole wide world.'"
Charlebois said it's a privilege working with teachers that run the gamut from experienced to freshly trained, and being in a teacher's own classroom with them allows more collaboration and shared responsibility. She doesn't feel like she's doing it alone.
For example, when a sixth-grade class is learning about classic Greek literature and mythology, Charlebois can teach them some elements of classical music. Both English and music teach about acts, chapters and themes, she said.
Jackie Lee, who teaches fifth grade at El Toro Elementary School, said she likes the new program better, too.
"The time management is better. It's not getting 90 kids in one room," she said. "She can cover more material more efficiently. And when I tell the students it's time for music, I hear cheers."
Working class-by-class is a more intimate setting than the groups the team of three would work with, Charlebois said. The proof is in the 500 students she can call by name, which is more than she knew last year.
The smaller setting also makes for a more attentive group. Charlebois is probably the only teacher who makes sitting up fun: humming from their diaphragms, they surprise themselves by the vibrations, she said.
Still, Charlebois said she is worried about future layoffs. By all accounts, the next fiscal year will be much worse than the current one.
Charlebois said her salary is paid by a state grant, so she's secure for this year. But the grant may be running out, which would mean her salary would probably have to come from the district's general fund.
"I have faith in the community, who are strong music advocates," she said. "But everyone of us specialists has that concern. Every teacher has that concern."
She tries not to think about it too much, and focuses instead on the joy in her students' voices.
"Right now, the children are extraordinarily happy," she said.
Natalie Everett
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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