As a concerned parent at Auburn High School, I would like to bring a matter to the community’s attention.
The process for hiring a new band director for Auburn High School and Auburn Middle School has many band parents and students deeply disturbed.
Parents and students have expressed strong support for a teacher who has dedicated a year to the program and who has provided great instruction, support and stability during a very challenging period.
She has made a real difference in many students’ lives and education, giving them confidence in their unique strengths and skills.
Anyone that has heard the bands perform, can recognize the quality of the musicianship these students have developed under her direction.
Despite this support, administrators have chosen to terminate her employment and offer the position to someone who has “too many accolades to list—bringing home grand championships from nearly every competition.”
Administrators may benefit from being able to report championships on their annual reports or on their resumes when applying for other jobs. The students, however, benefit from an instructor who is focused on their development and education.
We do our students a great disservice if we demonstrate to them by this decision that their administrators value accolades more than hard work and dedication.
Someone who has invested heavily in their lives, who has provided emotional support through illness and deaths, and who has helped them elevate their levels of musicianship, deserves to be welcomed and rewarded, not tossed aside.
Not only is this a tragedy for the Auburn strand, but something that bodes poorly for how student and parent concerns are considered in hiring throughout MCPS.
We encourage concerned parents and students from across the system to contact the school board and attend the upcoming school board meeting to ask that this hiring decision be reconsidered and that education be prioritized over accolades.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the School Board office (750 Imperial St., Christiansburg).
Contact information for school board members is available at www.mcps.org/about_us/school_board/board_members/.
Sincerely,
Carola Haas,
Riner
Editor’s note: Janet Longerbeam is the interim band director at AHS and AMS that was not chosen to permanently fill the position. She is slated to finish out the school year before being replaced by Michael Hand.
