LOS ALAMITOS : Parents Protest End of Music Elective

Angry parents have protested a decision by the Los Alamitos Unified School District to convert sixth-grade instrumental music at McAuliffe Middle School into an after-school program that will be paid for by parents.

“This is a tragedy for our district,” said Karen Dow, a parent who spoke during a school board meeting Monday. “I don’t see any activity in sixth grade to replace it.”

Starting in September, instrumental music will no longer be offered as a yearlong elective in sixth grade. Instead, it will be part of what school officials call a fine arts survey class that will include drama and arts lessons.

Students may still take music, either choral or instrumental, but only for one-third of the year, or about 12 weeks. For those wanting to take instrumental music for the whole year, it will be offered twice a week, after school, and at a cost of $150 a year, district officials said.

An additional lesson in orchestra will be offered on Fridays, according to Assistant Supt. Lorie Gonia. She said a school bus would take the students home.

“Our intent is not to undermine our music program,” Gonia said. “It’s a difficult trade-off, but it’s a decision even our music teachers like.”

She said about 50 sixth-graders are taking instrumental music at McAuliffe, the district’s only middle school.

Gonia said the decision to drop instrumental music from the regular course came after more than two years of study by administrators at McAuliffe School. A full year of science will be added for school year 1993-94 and teams will be formed to teach science, math, social science and other subjects.

Instrumental music will still be offered in the seventh and eighth grades, Gonia said.

Parents argued that students will lose interest in playing a musical instrument if it is offered as an after-school program. In addition, they said that cutting off the program at the sixth-grade level and putting it back in the seventh and eighth grades will interrupt the students’ progress. “We’re only kidding ourselves if we say this will work,” said Janet Traver. “This will not work.”

But school board President Keith Polakoff said teachers feel that sixth-graders should be exposed to arts, music and drama, not just music.

It is in line with the new middle school curriculum that students should be involved in explorations of various art forms and subjects, he said.

However, Polakoff said that district officials will monitor the impact of phasing out the sixth-grade music program and will reinstate it if necessary.