Page 14 - 2019 BMR April

Recruiting and Retention

performing groups in your school and your feeder school(s), Be proactive:
consider combining them for a number on a concert. Once you get students in your program, retention is the
Dress for success: next phase. Communicate with your administrators and
guidance counselors regularly regarding scheduling. Talk
Band kids need to have spirit wear just like the kids in
with your students constantly about their participation
all the other school activities. Create a special t-shirt for
for the long term. This is especially important during the
your activities, have spirit wear for sale through the band
early years of participation. Do not be afraid to survey your
booster club or school spirit store. Get the band advertised
students about program issues related to their participation.
early and often. Don’t forget to give your administrators a
You might discover some valuable insights.
band shirt to wear to those “special occasions”.
Balance work and play: Be willing to change:
Make sure that there are regularly scheduled social Sometimes, we become creatures of habit. Different
activities for all students. Try video game night, trivia generations have different priorities and expectations. We
contests, pizza/ice cream parties, swim parties, or movie must be willing to examine our policies and procedures in
nights. The students need to develop a sense of family as order to stay current. Look at your calendar and at your
well as developing their musical skills. If band is a fun budget. Could you make participation more attractive
place to be, word will spread quickly. by adjusting your plans? Does the commitment of time
Keep up with current popular technology: outside of school seem in proportion with other activities?
Are there sufficient performance opportunities to balance
Use Facebook, Twitter, blog sites, etc. as communication
the amount of rehearsal expected? Sometimes these are
opportunities. Obviously, you must maintain a professional
difficult questions and it is frightening to think about
and ethical boundary between teacher and students, but
changes in our established patterns, however, if we remain
there are ways to send out band-related information using
static, we run the risk of becoming dated and of falling
the resources that the kids understand and embrace.
behind the times.
We have created a DVD that shows glimpses into the
Recruiting and retention are vital to the livelihood of
high school program and we distribute it to all of our
our music programs. We cannot assume that students will
middle school students before they get their high school
beat a path to our door. We must be salespersons for our
registration materials.
activities and we must make sure that we are fulfilling not
Meet your future: only the musical but also the social needs of our students.
Make sure that the directors from all levels attend As other opportunities become more attractive, we must
performances and visit the classrooms whenever possible. keep pace or step aside. With careful planning and some
Putting a face and/or personality with the director’s name creative use of resources, we can do a lot to make our
can ease the transition as students progress into the programs attractive to future members.
advanced levels.
Gary D. Gribble has recently retired, having been Director of Bands at Alan C. Pope High School in Georgia’s Cobb County School District since the
school opened in 1987. Under his direction, the Pope High School Band has earned more than 400 awards of excellence and has been a Bands of America
regional champion, a regional finalist 19 times, and a Grand National semifinalist twice. The Pope band received the Sudler Shield from the John Philip
Sousa Foundation in 1992. The school’s marching band has participated in parades across the continental U.S., in Hawaii, and in London, England,
and its symphonic bands have performed in state, regional, and national concerts. Mr. Gribble earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from
Georgia State University. He has served as an adjudicator, guest conductor, and clinician in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois,
Tennessee, and Florida. In 1996, Mr. Gribble choreographed a portion of the opening ceremonies for the Paralympic Games in Atlanta. In 2008, he was
named a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction by the National Society of High School Scholars. Mr. Gribble was also selected for inclusion in the American
School Band Directors Association and is currently on the executive board of the National Band Association.
Bandmasters Review • April 2019 12 Texas Bandmasters Association