December 13, 1999

To Whom it May Concern,

As a past member of the Honor Orchestra and participant in Stairway of the Stars I am deeply saddened to hear the elementary music program will be cut. I began playing in fourth grade at Franklin Elementary and continued throughout my Jr. High and High School education. I learned more than just how to play an instrument I learned teamwork, discipline and most of all I gained an appreciation for all aspects of music and the arts.

The instruction is excellent, the atmosphere creative and the skills irreplaceable. Do Not Cut These Programs! These are some of the things that make SM. education superior to LA Unified, let's keep them, fight for them, expand them, not pick away until there is nothing left for the next group of children.

Sincerely,
Daniel R. Milrad
Franklin Elementary Class of 1983
Lincoln Jr. High Class of 1986
Santa Monica High Class of 1989

Dear Editor

Please do not take anything out of our world class music programs. How
unthinkable and cynical to even consider sabotaginng the winning, vital
and enriching Santa Monica Schools Music Programs. They are a model for
the entire nation.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sincerely,
Ruth and Larry Rosen
Santa Monica

Dear Responsible People:

I have a son in the Santa Monica High music program. He has benefitted
enormously from the opportunities to learn music and organizational skills
through his work with the marching band and symphony orchestra. If he had
not started music early in his school career, he would have been much less
likely to start in this direction. I know that you must balance many needs
as you choose how to spend your inadequate budget, but music ought to have a very high priority, and it needs to start as early as possible. When
students are young, they are much more receptive to music programs. Please do not further reduce funding for music in the lower grades.

Furthermore, the music program has made it possible for an economically and ethnically diverse group of kids to interact intellectually and socially.
It also leads to parent involvement that cuts across economic and social
lines, fostering a more closely knit community.

I hope that Sacramento gets this message, both from this voter and from the
Board of Education, that music and other arts education should be a central
element of any school program.

Sincerely,
Douglas E. Hammond
Parent, taxpayer and voter

Ladies and gentlemen:

Our daughter, Elizabeth Glennon, is a graduate of the instrumental music
program at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica. Now a sixth grader, she is currently a cellist in the Lincoln Middle School string orchestra. Watching Lizzy and her friends develop as musicians over the past 2.5 years, we have come to view the elementary music curriculum as an essential tool for helping budding adolescents develop in mind, spirit, and character.

Instrumental music offers children a chance to commit to a course of action,
to keep to their commitment, and to reap the benefits of that commitment in
an ongoing way. By coming to practices and working on their instrument,
they learn that perseverance does pay off. They learn how to cooperate with others, how to work together toward a common goal, and how to appreciate the efforts of others.

They learn to cooperate with members of the opposite sex in a natural, (relatively) non-competitive environment. Their self-images are enhanced as their expertise grows and as they earn applause for their efforts. All these benefits are in addition to the exposure to music, which enriches their entire lives and the lives of those around them. We can't think of a pleasanter way to teach children these important lessons.

At the Lincoln Middle School holiday concert last night, we were struck by
the level of concentration evident among all the performers, by the
attention they paid to the conductors, by their wonderful behavior, and by
their obvious (and justified) pride in their performances. We were happy to
hear from my daughter about the natural camaraderie that has developed among orchestra members (boys and girls), and about how much fun she had had after her part of the performance ended, trying out other children's instruments in the practice room.

We were moved to see my mother crying while my daughter's orchestra was playing, and we enjoyed the terrific program. If those kids hadn't had 2 years' orchestra experience in elementary school, there would have been far less participation, at a far lower level, and many of the benefits of having music at all would be lost.

The musical curriculum in the elementary schools serves us all, in ways that
go far beyond the silly "Mozart effect." Starting children early is the
best way to ensure maximum participation in such programs, both in terms of numbers of students, their achievement, and the duration of their
participation in music. We urge you to take every action possible to
preserve instrumental music in the Santa Monica elementary schools.

Sincerely,

Jody Kreiman, PhD and Tom Glennon, PhD
parents of Lizzy Glennon, cellist

Dear Editor,

I am the president of the Samohi Orchestra Parents Assn and my daughter Alice has been active in the SM music program since seventh grade, her first year at SMMUSD.

It has been the best part of her education in Santa Monica. She has played
in band and orchestra every year. She was horn section leader in marching
band for two years. She is going to Chicago with the Samohi Symphony.

It is CRIMINAL that a community as progressive and prosperous as Santa Monica should not maintain its arts education program. Cut the budget and you will fall to the level of LAUSD arts education -- virtually non-existent.

SHAME ON YOU!

Sincerely,
Gretchen Woelfle

Dear Editor,

My daughter Alice, entered SM Schools in 7th grade at John Adams. She will graduate from Samohi in June. For her, the shining star of her secondary
education has been the music program. She plays French horn, and has been in band and orchestra every year. The Marching Band has been a wonderful musical and leadership experience, as she was horn section leader for two years. She has played in the excellent Wind Ensemble with Terry Sakow.

Through her Samohi contacts, she was invited to join the SMC Orchestra. As a Samohi student she entered and won second place in the Kiwanis Competition two years ago. She won a place in the LA Phil Honor Orchestra. She will travel to Chicago next week to perform with the Samohi Symphony at the Midwest Clinic. I am serving as President of the SAMOHI Orchestra Parents Assn this year.

She is applying to music conservatories for next year. The Music Department has been the best thing about Samohi for her and for me. It has provided her with a community of friends and colleagues. It has given her a marvelous aesthetic experience. It has taught her commitment, discipline, and perseverence.

It is criminal that a prosperous, enlightened city like Santa Monica should
even THINK about cutting the arts programs from its schools. If you don't
support the arts, WHO WILL? Your arts education will be no better than LAUSD -- virtually non-existent.

SHAME ON YOU SMMUSD -- return the money to arts budget and give our children what they deserve -- a well-rounded education strong in music and art.

Sincerely
Gretchen Woelfle
President
Samohi Orchestra Parents Assn.

Dear Editor,

Please do not diminish our miraculous music department, in any way.
In the USA, where the arts are routinely considered "frills", Santa
Monica really stands alone in it's dedication to the arts. What a tragedy to cut out what is education at it's finest. Do not short change our children from this enrichment.

Dr and Mrs LM Rosen
Santa Monica

Dear Sirs and Madams:

I am the parent of two daughters who have both profited immensely from
the music program at Will Rogers. My younger daughter is in 5th grade at
Rogers, so the difficult decisions you will be making does not affect us
directly, but I urge you to INCREASE funding rather than eliminate it.

Last night and the night before, my elder daughter, Elena, now an 8th
grader at John Adams Middle School, participated in the two "Sounds of
the Holidays" concerts there. I hope you had the good fortune of having
attended. If not, you missed a great time and a proper musical
experience. Aside from the positive results in each student and family
who participated, it was obvious that the concerts energized the entire
student body and brought them together in a wonderful way. This was made
clear to me on Thursday and this morning as I dropped my daughter at
school and heard other students congratulate her and talk about the
concerts.

For so many of the students and parents who were involved in or
witnessed these concerts, the satisfaction was deep because it was a
culmination of years and years of study, fun and hard work. Although
each student does most of her or his learning and makes the most
progress through individual effort, it is the group experience that
makes it all worthwhile. As I've watched both my daughters abandon the
piano for stringed instruments, I realized that they made the decision
so they could be with others and make music together with others. The
communal experiences make all the hours of personal practice worthwhile
and bearable. That all this positive energy should be directed to a
school environment and school project is to the benefit of the
individual student AND to the school and to non-participating student
body.

Needless to say, very few of the hundreds of students who participated
in these concerts would have been there if they hadn't had music
programs in elementary school. Certainly, even fewer would have
participated at anywhere near the level of acheivement that they did.

One last thought: The fact that all these students were exposed to music
in their school makes music and their own personal musical involvement
all the more legitimate. It isn't something on the outside, something
only THEY have to endure, some personal punishment their parents
designed just for them. It's real, it's fun and we all profit from it.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bill Megalos

Hi!

I just wanted to express my family's concern about the potential loss of
music programs from Santa Monica schools.

Music is just as important as many other subjects, and brings an
inestimable sense of self worth to program participants. My daughter
Marla, now a senior at Pomona College in Claremont, participated all the
way from elementary school through SaMoHi, and I credit that involvement
with keeping her out of a lot of the troubles that besiege our youth
today, including drugs, inappropriate sexual involvement and disinterest
in education per se.

Please do whatever you can to keep these programs alive.

Patrick, Tami & Sean McClure
Santa Monica CA

Dear Editor,

Music programs in our schools should not be eliminated. If anything, they
should be increased. I speak from experience. I am the Director of Music at
St. Monica's Catholic Church. I also direct the choral group at St. Monica
High School (Rainbow Riders). The students in this group are hungry to sing
and they do a fine job. However, because there is a lack of music, or none
at all, in the elementary schools they come from most have their first
musical experience in high school.

Is this a problem? Yes. It is difficult to attain a level of proficiency
required to be an acceptable music program. All of the time is spent in
learning music and not learning about music. We have an elementary school at St. Monica and the music program there is very basic. Unfortunately, it does nothing to feed the high school.

The music programs in the Santa Monica schools should be your pride and joy. The instrumental and vocal groups at SAMO are among the best I have ever heard and it is all due to the fact that the students begin in elementary
school to learn their instruments and to sing. If you cut the music programs
then you will join the ranks with the LAUSD which has very little to be
proud of in regards to music in the schools.

I urge you to look for other ways to save monies. DO NOT CUT THE MUSIC. The students need the music and so does the community. I guarantee that within 5 years or so you will not be very happy with the struggling music program you will have created at SAMO.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ed Archer
Director of Music (an Liturgy)
St. Monica Catholic Church