The Eustis Band
Program is under the direction of Mr. Ricke, who has over 33 years
experience teaching band, 19 of which are here at Eustis Middle
School. Our band program is continuing to grow and has been highly
successful over the last decade in local, state, and national
competitions and festivals. This band is increasingly being invited
to perform at these and a variety of other types of events. Every
successful band program needs money, and the more successful the
program, the more money is needed to ensure continued success.
Involvement in the band program offers many benefits to students,
including:
Students of
music bring creativity to product design and marketing
Study of music helps students to
think and work across traditional disciplines. They learn to
integrate knowledge and to “think outside the box.”
Music education teaches students
how to work together.
A music education builds an
understanding of diversity and the multi-cultural dimensions of our
work.
A music education contributes to
areas that are important to the future of all Floridians.
Consequently, living in a global
world as we do, studying music means participating in a global
behavior conducted utilizing universally accepted practices.
What musicians lack in business
experience, they make up for in creativity.
Math and science are the big
talking and testing points in education these days, but human
resource experts believe to truly succeed in today’s global
economy, tomorrow’s workers benefit most from studying and
participating in the arts.
In order to
participate in a band program the children are required to purchase
an instrument, buy a uniform, provide many entry fees, pay for
accompanists, and pay for transportation and other expenses for trips
and outings. Parents bear the burden of most of these costs.
Our band has
many underprivileged children that require donated instruments and
partial or full financial help with entry fees to such events as
State competitions and the end of the year parade and competition at
Universal Studios Orlando. Our award winning, first place Steel Drum
program is funded almost completely with monies raised by the band
and boosters.
As a whole, our
community is doing well, with an average income of approximately
$42,000/year, and with higher-than-average home ownership. The TOTAL
Percentage of our residents living in poverty is only 15
percent, which is a fairly low number.
About 20 percent
of the City of Eustis’ population of 18,600 residents is student
age.
Right here at
our school we have a student population of approximately 1,050
students, which is a large student body. About 28% of the total
Eustis student population is at our school, Eustis Middle.
36 percent of our students are
minorities.
51 percent of the total student
population qualify for and receive free or reduced lunch
Reading and math proficiency is
10-20 percent lower at our school than the statewide average.
Our fine school
rates well on FCAT scoring, ranking 72 out of 100, and our school
consistently earns an A rating, something of which we are very proud
The numbers show
that Eustis High School ranks 50 out of 100 on the FCAT exam. We feel
that we can help to raise that number by at least 25% percent on the
FCAT standardized exam at the high school if we continue to improve
our music education program here in the middle school level.
We know that
Eustis High School has a 77% graduation rate, something to be proud
of! The graduation rate is high among other cities, but we feel that
it could be, and would be, improved upon with improvements to our
music program.
Research proves
that the long term benefits of a strong music education program can
help to raise the graduation rates to 94% and beyond.
Currently, only
about 17% of our high school graduates continue on to earn a higher
education degree, with only 5 percent earning graduate or higher
degrees. This is a number that our program aims to change.
However, among
those with a long-term music education, 80% are likely to go on to
earn a masters degree or better. In addition, statistics show that
of people with a doctorate degree, 80% are well trained in at least
one musical instrument. Truly, the statistics show the benefits of a
music education!
The Eustis
Middle School band averages about 150 total students. Our students
are positive role models in the school and in the community, and we
are working to develop a program called The Mustangs Caring for
School Community (MCSC). The program is designed to create a caring
school environment characterized by kind and supportive relationships
and collaboration among students from the Mustang Band, staff, and
parents. The MCSC model is consistent with research-based practices
for increasing student achievement as well as the theoretical and
empirical literature supporting the benefits of a caring classroom
community in meeting students' needs for emotional and physical
safety, supportive relationships, autonomy, and sense of competence.
By creating a
caring school community, our program seeks to promote pro-social
values, increase academic motivation and achievement, and prevent
drug use, violence, and delinquency. MCSC has seven components
designed to be implemented over the course of the school year:
- Meeting the
community: Throughout the year the Eustis Mustang Middle
School Band competes in many fairs, festivals and shows. After each
performance the members of the band participate with other students
in a question and answer session. During this time our students
explain all the benefits they receive during their time with the
band program. The members of the band each explain how the band has
helped them become better students, friends, and how the confidence
gained through the music program helps them to become better human
beings.
- Class Meeting Lessons:
This provides students in the Mustang Band with a forum to spend
time with local elementary school students in a classroom climate.
During the time spent in the classroom our students will share their
experiences and explain why the time they spend with the band is not
only good for social awareness but more importantly, how being
involved with the arts can improve test results. Our students want
to show the younger elementary students that learning notation when
reading music equates to reading and understanding fractions. Often
times, mastering the use of fractions is a problem for students of
mathematics. Understanding and having familiarity with using
fractions is one of the keys to understanding and being able to do
higher mathematics. Understanding how to use and manipulate
fractions is a consistent problem for English Language Learners, so
learning music and musical notation as a tool has been proven to
raise levels of mathematical comprehension.
- Community Outreach:
Community Outreach is an important tool that the members of The
Mustang Band currently use and will continue to build upon. During
the school year the Eustis Middle School Mustang Band plays music
around our community many times, including at local street
festivals, holiday parades and nearby elementary schools. But, we
want to take our Community Outreach a step further. Our Community
Outreach Program will reach the children who are not always exposed
to the fact that children at 10, 12, and 14 years of age can
actually learn to play an instrument. We want to reach those
children who did not know they had the option to join the band,
despite financial constraints. Our program will bring our Jazz Band
and our Steel Drum Band to a community day camp or after school
program twice per year. During this event the members of the
band will reach out to children who are underprivileged and live in
disadvantaged settings, letting them know about our instrument
donation program. These children are not aware that, thanks to
fund-raising efforts, they could also join the band due to the fact
that entry fees, instruments and uniforms because the entry fees and
uniforms can in fact be donated for their use. Many of these
children need something inspirational and fulfilling in their lives,
and without our help, many of these children may never know that
they too could play a steel drum or saxophone.
- Real World Experience: Once
per year we will invite the thirty most needy students from the
elementary schools in our jurisdiction based upon grades or poor
attendance to our School. We will invite them to a free event
hosted by the Mustang Band in the band room where the students
will get a chance to see in person the Eustis Mustang Steel Drum
Band and The Eustis Mustang Jazz Ensemble. After the concert
the students from the surrounding schools will be able to interact
with the instruments, the band members and the director. The
students will be able to ask questions, and our hope is that the
experience will lead to these students wanting to participate and
learn an instrument, thereby improving on both their attendance and
grades. After this event the booster committee will talk about
the possibility that these children can try something fun and
interesting and make a commitment to the band. The committee
will then distribute information to the children about our
instrument donation program, which these students would not have
known about, but for having participated in this Real World
Experience. Given the statistics for our community above, we feel
that this portion of our program will contribute the most to the
students in our community. It has been shown that children exposed
to a long term music education program are 85 percent more likely to
come to school each day, and learning becomes easier for those
students.
- Giving Back: We are lucky enough to have some of the best role models right here in our band program. The MCSC Program would like to give back to our community by holding three food drives per year. We will schedule these food drives right before our school breaks, by putting bins in the front office, band room And The First Baptist Church in Eustis. The students of The Advanced Band will be involved in the organization, collection and delivery of the collected food. The students will also donate clothing throughout the year to local shelters.
- Music Mentors: Music Mentors is a program shared by Eustis High School and the Eustis Middle School Bands. Directors Mr. Ricke of the Eustis Mustangs and Mr. Flenner of The Eustis Panthers created this program to ensure quality music education and performance through mentor-ship. The desire to develop a greater appreciation for the art of music and by giving the next generation an opportunity to receive the best training possible in music education by their peers. Through strategic partnerships, music awareness, and quality teaching, these bands are in the process of building a music program worthy of national and international recognition. Music Mentors is a Bi-weekly program. Any middle school student can sign up, he or she lists what they want or need for example: assistance with the all-state audition, jazz music etc.
The Music Mentor Program is meant to help those who want to advance at a faster rate.
The Music Mentor Program provides a transition into the high school program
It is a fun way to learn from your older piers.
It give the middle school students a chance to get together with piers that play the same instrument as they play in a personal setting.
One on One setting with a “big brother/sister ” environment.
Recruits students into the high school band.
- The high school students come early and sit in with the middle school students during their band classes.
7. Mustang/Panther Connection: Statistics prove that younger students
who are active in a long term music program become better college
students. We are therefore implementing The EMMA Award! A
$250.00-500.00 scholarship that will be presented to a student graduating
Eustis High School with a GPA of 3.5 or above and who has been an
active participant in the Mustang/Panther band program, grades 6th
through 12th. This will be presented by the Eustis Mustang Music
Association, bringing full circle our commitment to give back to the
community through our MSCS program.
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