When one thinks about distance learning ZOOM sessions, online textbooks, breakout groups, and Nearpod commonly pop into our minds for classroom instruction. But what if you are an elective teacher, or more specifically a music teacher? How does a music teacher actually instruct a band, a color guard, and reshape an entire program to continue its notoriety and success? Well, that’s when Ms. Kelly Mccarley, Huntington Park High School’s music teacher, and band director truly steps up in unprecedented times.
Ms. Kelly Mccarely is one of a kind. With the honor and distinction of having a GRAMMY Signature School Music Program, Ms. Mccarley feels it is her responsibility to grow Huntington Park High School’s program and to utilize the grant received to address the needs of the school. She has worked relentlessly with the middle school feeder schools to keep students invested in the music program as they transition to high school by purchasing new instruments for her classes, and last year taking students to see performances to expose them to a variety of musical styles and techniques. And yet, her fundraising hasn’t stopped there. Ms. Mccarley has had several projects funded through DonorsChoose. This summer she wanted to ensure each student in her beginners' class had instruments, so through DonorsChoose, she received recorders for each student to pick up before the first day of instruction. When the school was short on drum kits, she utilized the donor site sure every student got a percussion pad in their home if they needed one.
While distance learning makes her program look a bit different this year, Ms. Mccarley spent time speaking with other band directors seeking ways to make the program maintain its core values. So how does one keep students motivated, invested, and keep rehearsals going? Huntington Park High School’s band director would meet every week in sectionals, focusing on skill sets, trying to keep everything as typical as possible. By building a program during the summer, it helped students transition to learning online. So when school started, the marching band was ready to work. Students knew their hard work had value, purpose, and that the program was going to thrive.
To keep students motivated, Ms. Mccarley listened to her students’ feedback and created a variety of activities to engage them, like “Fun Fridays” for her zero period. Each section of the marching band has spirit days and team-building skill sets that award them points for healthy competition. They use the start of class to focus on social-emotional learning online with breakout rooms and time to talk to each other, play trivia, and compete in scavenger hunts. By allowing students this opportunity, she sees this as a win. The biggest success of the marching band is that regardless of the setting, they are still meeting frequently, maintaining the rigor of the program, and most importantly, that students are still learning music and how to be better musicians. Even though they are distance learning, the goal is to still give them the best musical experience they can.
If you still have any doubt about the resiliency of a program and the dedication of a community, then check out our Spartan Color Guard and Marching Band’s You Don’t Want to Go to War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmTYitujYE
These performance videos showcase our students’ commitment to the program, and Ms. Mccarley gives credit to her coach, Brad Ito, who helps edit her videos. He has worked with HPHS since the 2019-2020 school year, but his work lets students know that their work deserves to be recognized, and HPHS deserves to shine.
I know it will change your mind, and reshape the way we can bring the arts into a classroom, no matter what challenges we face. Go Spartans!