The Port Angeles School Board’s recent decision to eliminate the sixth-grade band program is short-sighted and not in the best interests of students or the community.
Research has repeatedly shown that early music education enhances cognitive abilities.
It improves memory, concentration and attention, spatial and mathematical learning and hand-eye coordination.
Music education teaches discipline, study habits, social skills and teamwork while building self-esteem.
It encourages creativity and positive self-expression.
Music boosts mood and is a source of joy and connection for students, including those who, for reasons of disability or otherwise, might not be fully engaged with school.
Port Angeles homeowners are paying a great deal in property taxes to support our schools; the share of my property tax allocated to Port Angeles schools amounts to thousands of dollars.
This is largely for capital expenditures under Phase 1 of the school district’s 30-year facilities plan to replace or renovate our local public schools.
While children need safe and modern physical structures in which to learn, the pattern of prioritizing bricks and mortar over the actual education of young people is unwise and flat wrong.
I strongly urge the school board to reconsider its decision and to reinstate the sixth-grade band program.
Katherine Kennedy
Port Angeles