Lead Singer : Principal Doubles as a Balladeer to Deliver His Musical Message

As he does at the end of every week, Ventura elementary school principal Jeffrey C. Nelsen brought something extra to school for his students Friday--his guitar and a sense of musical fun.

Far from the stern, authoritarian figure sometimes associated with school principals, Nelsen, a bearded, congenial man of 40, brings another dimension to the job.

On Friday mornings, after attending to his usual administrative duties at Pierpont Elementary School, Nelsen picks up his guitar case and heads to the classroom at the 270-student beachfront school to lead his students in song.

Then in the afternoons he drives about five miles to Lincoln Elementary School--where because of budget cuts he is also serving as principal this year--to do the same thing.

Nelsen has held such weekly sing-alongs for the past 10 years in an effort to teach his students music appreciation.

“Kids just love music,” Nelsen said. “It can be a real avenue to learning.”

Citing the dearth of music education in classrooms because of budget constraints, Nelsen, who has an undergraduate degree in music and master’s and doctorate degrees in education and administration, decided to bring music to his students himself.

So, on Fridays, like a roving balladeer, he goes from classroom to classroom and between his two schools with his musical message.

“Kids don’t get a lot of music,” Nelsen said. “We don’t have a music appreciation specialist. We can’t afford it anymore here. We have to get music to them any way we can.”

The district has fine arts teachers with music backgrounds at three of its elementary schools, one middle school and at both Buena and Ventura high schools, said JoAnn VanderMolen, director of curriculum and instruction.

Also, teachers in the lower grades often sing to recorded music in their classrooms, incorporating music into their regular curriculum.

The district also has begun a program, called “Mozart in the Morning,” in which five or 10 minutes of recorded classical music is played in many classrooms at the beginning of the school day.

Nelsen, however, said his efforts bring a live musical instrument into the classroom, something students seldom see.

The sing-along sessions, which Nelsen performs in the mornings at Pierpont and in the afternoons at Lincoln, give the principal an opportunity to get into the classroom with students.

“Jeff is a wonderful role model in this way,” VanderMolen said. “Being a principal nowadays is more than being a building manager--they need to be instructional leaders.”

Often, Nelsen selects songs that tie in with a theme or subject that the class is studying. For example, last year, Nelsen, working with a fifth-grade teacher who was teaching U.S. history, worked up a repertoire of 20 songs, such as “Oh, Susanna,” that tied in with the westward migration and early California history.

“They connect the history with the music,” Nelsen said. “It helps bring history alive for them.”

For his first- and second-grade audience on Friday, Nelsen sang perennial favorites such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” He also included humorous folk music and songs that involved learning games, coordination and physical exercises.

Six-year-old Danielle Henry, seated in the front row, appeared to enjoy the performance immensely.

“I like all of his songs,” Danielle said. “Especially the fast ones.”

Anthony Michael, 6, said although he liked the selection, he might introduce the principal to a few rap songs at next week’s sessions.

Besides their value as an educational tool, Nelsen said, the musical sessions engender a better relationship between the principal and his students.

“If they’re having fun with the principal, they might see him as a less threatening figure,” Nelsen said. “And there are fewer disciplinary problems when they’re trying to please you.”