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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 11, 2006 Ryan Hust follows his mom Karen Lollis� piano fingering at their Medford home. Lollis and another parent have formed a grassroots effort to return music programs to Medford�s elementary schools. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli saving the music A group of parents is trying to restore music education to Medford’s cash-strapped elementary schools By PARIS ACHEN Mail Tribune Winding down from a long day at Jefferson Elementary School, 10-year-old Ryan Hust plays "From a WigWam" on a Clarendon piano at his Medford home. "It makes me happy (to play the piano)," Ryan says. Ryan inherited his fondness for music from his mother, Karen Lollis, who has been playing the same piano since she was 4. Ryan says he hopes to play the drums in the school band. "Drums look like it would be fun to play," Ryan says. Advertisement But unlike his predecessors at Jefferson, the fifth-grader will have to wait until the sixth grade to play in the band. Reeling from deep cuts in funding, the Medford School District slashed school-day elementary music programs in 2003-04. Fearful that the move could lead to the erosion of the high school music programs, parents Lollis and Teri Tipton launched a grassroots effort to restore music to the city’s elementary schools. "Our big fear is that within a couple of years, the high school programs are going to be gutted because there won’t be any music instruction early on," Lollis said. Called Save Music in Medford Schools, the group established an eight-member steering committee at its first meeting Monday. Committee members include parents, a teacher and representatives from the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon, the Medford Schools Foundation and the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. The committee will begin contacting schools and parent groups this month to garner support and plans to hold another meeting next month. "We are just continuing to get the word out there and more concrete steps in the next few weeks," Lollis said. Research indicates music increases neural connections, enhancing creativity, spatial reasoning, motor skills, problem solving, memory and emotional intelligence. "Music in schools is really about quality of life, better education and more opportunities as kids go through life," Lollis said. Music education is especially important for the 48 percent of students in the district who live in poverty, Tipton said. "Those students don’t have the ability to get any kind of music education outside of school," Tipton said. The goal of the steering committee is to inform the public about the value of music programs, identify ways to restore them and seek funding to do so, Tipton said. "The reality is we need funding," Tipton said. "If the school district had the money to put into music education, they would." In 2004-05, general music classes went from two days a week to once a week. Band, chorus and orchestra were eliminated from the school day and are now offered only after school at four locations: Griffin Creek, Jackson, Kennedy and Lone Pine. As a result, enrollment in elementary and middle school music programs has dropped dramatically. Data collected by district orchestra teacher Lynn Imhof shows the district’s music department has nearly been cut in half from 30 to 16 employees. Participation in elementary music programs has declined by 87 percent in orchestra, 73 percent in band and 100 percent in chorus. "Music is important to help students become more well-rounded, disciplined and responsible," Inhof said. "It’s often an outlet for students who might not otherwise stay in school." Superintendent Phil Long said he welcomes the involvement of the community in addressing the diminishing music programs. "People are starting to realize the consequences of reduced funding in schools," Long said. "If we don’t change that situation, we will continue to be faced with very difficult choices." Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4459 or e-mail SAVING THE MUSIC ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Distance Education Computer Security Cheap Website Hosting Discount Hotel Reservations dvd-r Online Pharmacy Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews High End Computers Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Advertisement s