St. Elizabeth CHS, RAP Program, Part 3

This is a continuation to parts 1 & 2.  The main pillars of this program included:  Expanding in greater depth and Breadth, the curriculum for the RAP program; secondly, the Physical plant required development, that is, a Theatre and even exploring the improvement of the Visual Arts Area, and possibly a new dance studio.  Thirdly, developing partnerships everywhere and anywhere we could.  With my arrival, Opera York (a community organization operating within York Region, for the promotion of Opera) had already established a connection with St. Elizabeth CHS.  So, I was expected to meet on a regular basis with the main leaders:  P. Trow and J. Sax.  In addition to inviting our RAP arts students, particularly our music vocal and instrumental students to join-in with performances, these musician leaders wanted to offer private lessons in the school.
My plate was full as I entered this exciting new and very complex project.  The expectations were high and meetings took place regularly both within the school and into the community.  I was invited to meetings at the school board and was also responsible for a groups of teacher members belonging to this Arts Department.  In addition, we expected to grow, so we needed to draw interested teachers into the school.  The hope, on the part of the school Administration Team, was to get teachers of all academic disciplines:  math, science, etc., to have an arts background.  The school population was growing slowly, and this meant the need to hire additional teachers, particularly in the arts area.  The Arts Workroom was small, and storage space was another challenge as we gained some additional equipment.  For example, in music, we gained choral risers!  There was an expectation to expand the music piano keyboard lab to include computer technology.  The keyboard lab had to be moved to another classroom and this was a huge task.  The electrical bars were chained-linked to serve some 22 keyboards, all connected to a master console (Yamaha).  The floor was carpet!  So, I needed to get connected with school board technology people, attend off-site meetings to meet with Cubase experts and of course, this took me out of the classroom.  I think this was the greatest challenge for me in the first year or two.  I was always called to the office to problem solve with the School Principal and / or Vice Principal.  If it wasn’t budget, it was something to do with a parent complaint;  if it wasn’t a bussing issue (we had an added late bus run to help RAP students, more about this particular point in a moment!), it was a concern with an arts department teacher.  I recall, on many occasions, another colleague showing-up in the classroom to inform me that he / she was asked to cover my class so that I could be released to the main office.  It was difficult for me to consistently deliver instruction that first year; and, the expectations that my ensembles would be excellent musicians was a fear for me, because there existed this idea that our programs are above all others, because our students are auditioned, and therefore, we should understand, look and perform better than everyone else.  This was not the case, and quite frankly, I am surprised that the school administration and school board leaders would think that our programs were the best in this first year of delivery of a new program - confusing?  To continue, there was also this belief from our sister schools in the board that we at Saint Elizabeth had everything, the best resources, the best budget, the best students.  So, I attended most meetings with a “strike” against me, both within the school and beyond.  I had the added the pressure of having to prove myself worthy of this “new” job title.  You see, that first year, I was Department Head of Arts and Department Head of the Regional Arts Program.  A long list of duties was created and I developed a high level of anxiety.  I wanted to be on top of things at every level.  I was running rehearsals and attending evening events / activities regularly to support other arts teachers;  we were all expected to offer activities and presentations to promote the school and in particular, the RAP Program.  There was no time to sit back; we needed to keep going, to push forward so that other students from other communities would consider attending Saint Elizabeth CHS, not just for the RAP Program, but for the other programs that the school offered:  a better athletic program, COOP construction building opportunities, and more.  The school’s mission:  to get more students to attend, otherwise, the school would be closed.  As I mentioned, when I arrived, there was resistance from a few corners of the school for a variety of reasons.  It was difficult to even get some teachers to vacate the classrooms designated for arts curriculum delivery.  For example, we needed more classroom space to deliver music classes, but the teacher currently in that classroom, and who had been there for many years, now, was expected to leave;  in addition, take all your resources with you as well.  It took time.  I was new to the school and had to work gradually to develop relationships.  So, I was caught at times with arts teachers asking me to negotiate with other colleagues, and to make requests that I felt was not appropriate, because I still did not know many teachers at the school.  I had to be careful to keep the respect of the teachers in the Arts Department and balance myself with the “old guard” teaching staff at Saint Elizabeth.  It was not easy.  The School offered an amazing group of teachers who had been there for many years.  Discipline was good and while of course we had issues, the teaching staff was loyal and strong with their knowledge and expertise as classroom instructors.  The other expectation to add to the above “pillars”, as mentioned in my opening statement, and also is related to bussing, is that there was an expectations that RAP students would stay late to further develop their passion and skills in the arts.  At least twice a week, we arts teachers were expected to offer after school rehearsals and projects.  This needed to be supervised.  So, a second late bus was offered to RAP students.  This cost money.  But it was felt that it was necessary to help promote this new program. The last “pillar”, sort of related to partnerships, was to actively arrange and invite guest artists on a regular basis.  We arts teachers were required to show on paper how many guests we expected to invite, how these guests would enhance our curriculum, and the costs, etc.  One of the requirements of new students accepted into the RAP program was that each student pay $100 in addition to the Student Fee.  This $100 was applied to costs of inviting guest artists.  One of the biggest challenges for me, initially and for a few years after, as well, is that a few Arts Department members would use this money to purchase supplies, and towards transportation.  It was a constant battle with team members to remind them that the this feature or component of the program was to be used only for guest artists.  We needed to show our parents that we were using this money wisely and exactly as we announced at evening meetings.  Can you imagine the concern I had about this?  I needed to support and supervise this properly - it was my responsibility.  But, in many situations, I was unable to encourage a proper understanding and usage of this money.  So, as we continued year after year, the rules had to bend a bit.  The amount of time required to do this was exhausting because I had to approve all these requests, be aware of all the work in all arts areas, complete supply orders and more.  And, I did not want to be perceived as pushing the music area only, I had to be careful to show that I was supportive (equally) of all arts disciplines.  I had to learn a lot about Dance, Visual Arts, Drama - and this took time.  I neglected to mention the partnership with Centro Scuola.  In fact, this Italian culture entity donated a baby grand piano to the school, intended to be housed in the New Theatre once it would be constructed.  What is important to note:  I arrived at the school and this new program in 2003, the first year of RAP Program delivery, but realized that much work and decision-making had already been done in preparing for this first year.  There was already a main GALA evening with special guests invited to perform and speak.  Decisions about other details were put into action, that I was in the dark about.  I had so much to learn about what was already in place;  so much to learn about leadership;  so much to learn about a new school community;  so much to learn about negotiating; so much work to do with promotion; had to organize, teach and arrange new activities;  had to problem-solve, attend meetings;  had to research and prepare for meetings.  Wow, it soon became an over-whelming experience for me, that just kept growing and going.  So many forms to prepare, so many events to prepare for, so many responsibilities and meeting (if not, exceeding) expectations.  Looking back, i think that some of the planning and thinking was a bit unrealistic.

What I was doing last year at this time

On occasion, I do some reflection about this past year in comparison to last year, when I was completing my full-time teaching career.  This time last year, we were entering examinations, and I was busy cleaning-up my various work-spaces at St. Elizabeth CHS.  I do recall leaving behind many files and folders of collected teaching activities that my colleagues may find useful; some resources and information; some activity sheets, etc.

Every month throughout this past year was new to me;  While Music Alive Festival did keep me busy over many months, I do remember thinking on some days how different my life has changed.  I think I made a good transition from teaching full-time to semi-retired / Program Manager of Music Alive / Professional Musician.  Before, I taught and played music.  Now, I manage a festival and play music.

Do I miss the classroom?  Not really.  Is this a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  Perhaps it’s because I am doing what I enjoy.  I continue to work daily with Music Alive, although, the stress is much easier to manage at this point.  Last year at this time, I was busy closing my teaching career, but had already started to attend meetings with Music Alive, organize my schedule to find time to meet with Edel, who was helping me to familiarize myself with the many components to Music Alive Festival.  Of course, last year at this time, I recall the retirement party that Stacey Mansell arranged, it was a great celebration.  I really appreciated the gathering and the gathering place.  Incidentally, I attended the last concert with TSO last night!  The TSO tickets was the main gift I received at my retirement party last year.  In two weeks, it will be July, and I will no longer have to think:  What was I doing at this time last year, because it will be my second time around.

Bye for now.