In a recent administrative decision, the Simcoe County District School Board decided to cut the Music Repertoire program, no longer offering it to students in course selection.

Music Education within Rural Ontario is suffering, and it will affect students.

Music Repertoire is a course offered within most Ontario school boards for students in music ensembles. This course allows students to be a member of a close-knit community, opportunities to perform in National Band festivals, work with professional musicians, and participate in ensembles that grow their musicality. These are all unique experiences only available through a year-round repertoire course, and students cannot receive similar ones in a course that is only one semester long. 

What does this mean for music in high school?

Ensembles are no longer considered a course within schools, meaning that music teachers, who are already stretched incredibly thin due to inequitable budgets, will have to decide whether they continue ensembles as a volunteer in their free time in addition to more coursework throughout the day, or end ensembles all together, leaving students without a place to perform. Most music teachers run extracurricular ensembles in addition to music repertoire, and many will continue running this former course voluntarily because they deeply care for ensuring students have the same level of opportunities

Affects on Students

Students also no longer earn a course credit for the hard work and dedication they put into their ensembles. School administration is deciding that music isn't as essential to students as other 'academically fulfilling courses', and this decision jeopardizes music education for students in rural high schools, which already have less opportunities than urban ones. Furthermore, this decision being released on the eve of course selection impacts the course selections of students, especially those in SHSM programs. 

What can we do about it?

We need to advocate for music education and make it known that students, parents, and the community aren't supportive of this decision. Cutting Music Repertoire impacts multiple music departments, and is concerning for the future of music in our education. If we stay quiet about the cuts being made to music departments, administrators will keep limiting the opportunities we can provide to students in favour of other academics.

Share this petition and let it be known that we want music education to be accessible to every student. 
Updates regarding this cause will be posted on instagram: scdsb.repertoire.project

Instagram : scdsb.repertoire.project