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Riding the waves of music
Music saved me. I often tell audiences this personal story to illustrate the importance of the arts and our district's deep commitment to educating the whole child. In fact, if it weren't for the dedicated music educators in the Bethel School District who nurtured my passion in music, college would not have been possible. A music scholarship to the University of Puget Sound was my ticket out of generational poverty. As a trombonist, I played in the university wind ensemble and jazz band. For more than a decade, music inspired and consumed me. I suspect that our outstanding music educators in VPS have influenced thousands of students' and graduates' lives in similar ways. This year, Vancouver Public Schools will roll out a “Balanced Scorecard” that reports on multiple measures across seven areas: student learning results; student and stakeholder satisfaction results; budgetary and financial results; employee results; organizational effectiveness results; leadership, character and social responsibility results; and national benchmarking results. The purpose of this scorecard is twofold. First, to tell a more complete story of student, staff, school, and district success. Second, to use the data to inform future action positively. The measures are broader and more balanced than just state assessment results. One of the key performance indicators on the scorecard, for example, tracks evidence that our students have access to a breadth of program offerings that are responsive to students' needs—including the arts. Our 2010-11 scorecard reports that 100 percent of our students in grades 1-5 participate in the arts. Sixty-six percent of our middle school students, and 34 percent of our high school students participate too. That's remarkable, really, when so many other districts across our country have been forced to make painful program reduction decisions over the past several years due to state budget cuts. Even more compelling than the hard data are the anecdotal stories, the “soft” evidence that breathes life into the measures. They make the metrics dance...
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By Dr. Steven WebbMusic saved me. I often tell audiences this personal story to illustrate the importance of the arts and our district's deep commitment to educating the whole child. In fact, if it weren't for the dedicated music educators in the Bethel School District who nurtured my passion in music, college would not have been possible. A music scholarship to the University of Puget Sound was my ticket out of generational poverty. As a trombonist, I played in the university wind ensemble and jazz band. For more than a decade, music inspired and consumed me. I suspect that our outstanding music educators in VPS have influenced thousands of students' and graduates' lives in similar ways. This year, Vancouver Public Schools will roll out a “Balanced Scorecard” that reports on multiple measures across seven areas: student learning results; student and stakeholder satisfaction results; budgetary and financial results; employee results; organizational effectiveness results; leadership, character and social responsibility results; and national benchmarking results. The purpose of this scorecard is twofold. First, to tell a more complete story of student, staff, school, and district success. Second, to use the data to inform future action positively. The measures are broader and more balanced than just state assessment results. One of the key performance indicators on the scorecard, for example, tracks evidence that our students have access to a breadth of program offerings that are responsive to students' needs—including the arts. Our 2010-11 scorecard reports that 100 percent of our students in grades 1-5 participate in the arts. Sixty-six percent of our middle school students, and 34 percent of our high school students participate too. That's remarkable, really, when so many other districts across our country have been forced to make painful program reduction decisions over the past several years due to state budget cuts. Even more compelling than the hard data are the anecdotal stories, the “soft” evidence that breathes life into the measures. They make the metrics dance...