The Band Plays On : Carson Unit Makes Grades Before Music

Danny Willett, 17, a trumpet player for Carson High School’s “Ever Awesome Marching Blue Thunder” band and drill team, jerked his thumb at the banner displayed on the wall of the classroom.

“That’s ours,” he said, brimming with pride of ownership.

In bold red and blue letters, the banner declared Carson’s the best big band in the Los Angeles school district, giving the South Bay school its fourth consecutive championship. Carson was one of 12 teams competing in the 12th annual districtwide competition held Jan. 25 at the Sports Arena.

Willett and his 262 band and drill team colleagues were ecstatic over their victory, particularly because no Los Angeles school has ever won four championships in a row. Equally noteworthy, however, is the fact that Carson’s Colts, the largest band and drill team unit in the district, has maintained its size and quality despite a district rule on grades that has depleted many high school bands.

Keep Grades Up

Since 1983, students’ participation in the district’s band and drill team contest has depended not only on playing well and marching smartly but on their grades in academic classes. In order to participate in any extracurricular activity, from chess club to football, Los Angeles school district students must maintain a C average and cannot fail any course. The board adopted the rule primarily out of concern for student athletes who excelled in sports at the cost of a poor academic record, some graduating without the skills needed to find a job.

But the rule has affected more students in non-sports programs such as drama, yearbook and choir, than in after-school athletics, because more students join those activities than athletic teams, a district official said. Students in both athletic and non-athletic programs have been known to forge the grade reports they are required to submit to remain eligible for extracurricular programs.

Last week Lincoln High School on the Eastside was stripped of its first-place finish in the division for bands of 39 to 59 members when district authorities learned that a student had doctored a mid-term report card to avoid being disqualified. The title went instead to second-place Cleveland High School in Reseda.

Franklin High School in Highland Park, third-place winner in the small-band category of 29 or fewer members, lost more than half of its original 49 band members to poor grades when mid-term marks were issued, director Richard Quon said. Several instrumental sections were almost wiped out, including the drum, tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute sections.

Lost Only Three

Carson’s 152-piece marching band, on the other hand, was reduced by only three members who had failing grades. It has been able to maintain its size and quality despite the C-average, no-fail rule through an aggressive system of grade monitoring.

“That is something we have to look at here,” said Venice High School band leader Carmen Falso. Venice, which took second place in the big-band division of 60 or more members, lost 10 of its 90 players to poor grades before the district finals last month.

Some say that Carson’s success stems from band director James Berk’s diligent grade checking and constant student counseling.

“He is a very conscientious, dedicated teacher with a tremendous amount of energy who really cares about his students,” said Frank Harris, music director for the senior high school division. “What that band has accomplished is a direct result of his efforts.”

Danger of Flunking

Sixteen-year-old Mike Vasquez, a talented percussionist, was in danger of flunking four classes at the beginning of last semester. When asked how he managed to stay in the band, he pointed at Berk.

“He told me my life was going to end if I didn’t pass,” Vasquez said, grinning slyly. “He said . . . that I would never be in band again.”

While that may sound overly harsh, the warning was effective. The percussion player wound up passing all his classes and stayed in the band. “He made me work hard,” Vasquez said, “(but) I had something to work for--band.”

Berk said he told the student “in no uncertain terms” that he would lose his place in the band if his grades did not improve. “Some kids just need counseling,” the band director said. “He needed a kick in the rear.”

Berk, 26, was involved in high school bands long before he assumed the directorship at Carson. An alumnus of Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, he was a member of the first all-district band in 1974. While a student at UCLA, he worked as an assistant band director at Venice, Kennedy and Birmingham high schools. This year he is one of 11 finalists for the Music Center “Bravo” awards given to outstanding music and art teachers.

Complete Music Program

When he was hired as a full-time instructor five years ago, Berk immediately set to work building up the music program at Carson, which had deteriorated to almost nothing. The school offered only one music class--band--but no orchestra, piano or jazz band. Now the school has a complete music program.

And the band, which had only 80 members when he joined the faculty, runs like a well-oiled machine. “It’s a benevolent dictatorship,” Berk said. “I oversee it, and the students run it.”

Students are responsible for tasks ranging from cleaning the instruments and keeping track of 2,000 pieces of sheet music to emptying the trash cans and washing the classroom windows. They also raise funds to cover the band’s considerable expenses--$50,000 to $60,000 a year--for travel, uniforms, summer camp, instruments, even classroom furnishings.

This spring the band and drill team is traveling to Vancouver to perform the first number in the opening parade at the World’s Fair, a trip that will cost each member $690.

But the “privilege” of partaking of all the hard work and fringe benefits hinges on the students’ overall academic status. Thus, Berk requires each student to turn in a grade progress report every five weeks. If a member appears to be in danger of failing a class, Berk will suspend the student from performing until improvement is shown.

Assigns Tutors

A suspended player has to do homework during the band’s after-school practice sessions, which run from 10 to 15 hours a week. Berk often assigns other band members to tutor a fellow student who needs help.

“We start monitoring them the day they come in,” Berk said. “We set up a system with the teachers so that if a student is absent too much, missing homework, failing tests or having disruptive behavior, we hear about it and work with them. Coordination with teachers is the name of the game.”

While most band directors monitor their students’ grades, few seem to do it as exhaustively as Berk.

Teachers often send Berk notes informing him of problems with particular students. When he receives such a note, Berk said, he has a talk with the student. As Mike Vasquez, the percussionist who was close to failing several classes, suggested, Berk does not rely on subtlety.

“I ask the student what’s going on. Usually that is followed by an intense discussion,” Berk said, emphasizing intense. “I suggest a method of how to get back into the stream of things.”

Tough Director

Eric Davis, 17, who plays tenor sax, said Berk is tough. But the director is “always there if you need him,” he said. “He keeps you up in your classes.”

Berk frequently has a student draw up a contract promising to bring up a faltering grade. The contract is signed by the student, the academic teacher and Berk after a conference at which the three parties discuss the problem and how to remedy it.

If all this sounds like a lot of work beyond the normal duties of a band director, it is. Some band directors who were interviewed said they have enough to do without becoming full-time counselors. Although Berk does not relish the extra load, he said it is worth it to preserve his band.

At the five-week mark last semester, Berk said, 78 students in the band and drill team were in danger of flunking classes. But by the end of 10 weeks, when eligibility for the rest of the term is established, all but six had raised their grades and kept their places in the band. Three were band members, while the remaining three were on the drill team.

‘Provides Incentive’

Many band and drill team members said they generally like the C-average requirement. “It provides the incentive to work harder,” said banner captain Arlene Yoshida, 17. But most said the no-failure restriction is unfair because it penalizes students who may have a B or C average overall or who are simply in over their heads in a particular class. The rule has discouraged many students from taking more difficult classes, such as calculus and physics, band members said.

But band loyalists would never sacrifice a band class. According to Carson officials, band has one of the highest attendance rates on campus.

“People like me ditch classes every so often,” said Ed Cuaranta, 18, a bass drummer. “But we always come to band.”

Tuba player Tony Hughes, 16, said the thrill of competition and the joy of making music are the main reasons he goes to school.

“Band,” he said, “is life.”