Southern Middle School is moving their music programs, both choir and band, to entirely after school practices. This will be detrimental to their band program for years to come and may completely destroy it.

Music is many people's entire lives and their careers, without the beginning band program being accessible to all students it will tremendous negative affect on those people and will completely wipe out an entire generation in our community of musicians. The Pulaski county band and choir programs have created so many amazing musicians with just in the past 2 years alone Southwestern High school has had over 6 students receive a full ride scholarship for music!  From the dawn of time music has had the power to form relationships, create life lasting bonds, and help individuals have a sense of control over their lives. The community is filled  with nothing short of love and mind-blowing support for these musicians. Citizens of our city, who don't even have kids in these programs come out to watch their concerts because they can see their overwhelming potential! Why should we allow these opportunities to be snatched way from them? 

Their reasoning is that the music arts programs are distracting kids from their studies but if that's true why have studies shown for years that students in band have higher test scores? Studies by the University of Montreal, Northwestern and the Society of Neuroscience all told that in, different ways, skills learned by playing an instrument make you smarter. On average people who play instruments have an IQ seven points smarter than the average person. The University of British Columbia did a study that showed students who take music courses score significantly better on math, science and English exams than their non-musical peers. The Southwestern Marching band went to Bands of America in 2018, the first year with our current band director which is a very hard thing to do without skill and dedication and if the students at Southern middle that participate in the marching band have the skill, intelligence, and commitment to do that then they have the intelligence to know that a school-life balance is necessary and they won't be distracted from their studies when it counts. The idea that the Southern Middle School administration thinks that music is an expendable program that can be moved to only after school, completely taking it away from many students who would be great if it wasn't an extra curricular, is disrespectful and downgrading to young musicians and their futures. 

So people of Somerset, musically involved or not think about this program. What impact it has had on so many people in your community and around the world. To quote Can I Earn My Wings Without you? Southwestern High School’s 2018 show “ One day I will stand tall but first I have to know what it feels like to take the fall.”  Today is the day, the time is now for us to stand tall, we have taken the fall long enough.  Allow the power of music to move you and bring us all together in unity for our last glimmer of hope in a time of devastation. Sign the petition, do your part. Be the change you want to see.