Monday, October 17, 2022
This is such a busy time of the year. So much of our time and energy is devoted to football games, concerts, contests, and honor ensemble auditions. Have you taken any time to reflect on your beginner recruiting results? Are you satisfied with your beginner numbers and instrumentation? Is there something you did differently during the recruiting and enrollment process that you believe was beneficial or could be improved for next year? Although a majority of our energy is dedicated to our older performance groups this time of the year, now is the time to reflect on the past year's recruiting efforts and start planning for next year.
Many schools start the pre-enrollment process in February or March because April is dedicated to standardized testing. That doesn't give you much time from the start of the new semester to prepare a quality presentation and communicate with parents and teachers. Start your recruiting and outreach efforts this semester and ask your Palen Music Ed Rep for ideas and assistance.
On the Palen Music Center web page, among the links to the many resources provided our directors, is a Beginner Recruitment Guide. These suggestions and best practices were compiled from directors across the PMC service area. The most common suggestion was to start early and the best results came from programs that included instrument testing for ALL of next year's prospective students before their counselors started the pre-enrollment process. The directors that tested all the students were able to make a connection with a number of students that otherwise wouldn't have considered enrolling in a school music program.
Is there a better recruiting opportunity than using this time around the holidays? Familiar Christmas carols evoke the joy and anticipation of the season. Start communicating with elementary teachers and administrators now to plan an informal concert during the school day. Your younger groups might perform a simple carol from their method book and/or your more-accomplished high school musicians could demonstrate the sound and range of each instrument by playing a short melody from a more challenging carol. Coordinate with teachers to plan a return visit early next semester for instrument testing and graciously enlist their help in distributing materials to the parents.
It's difficult to add recruiting to everything else we're doing right now. A little advanced planning and communication will pay dividends in a better organized presentation and increased enrollment numbers. In addition to PMC's Recruitment Guide, Scott Lang's "Be Part Of The Music" website (https://www.bepartofthemusic.org) has a variety of recruiting videos and materials available to directors. Your PMC Ed Rep has a genuine interest in your program's success and values the relationship we have as a partner. Please feel free to ask your Ed Rep about ways they can assist you throughout the recruiting process.
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Kale White retired from band directing in May 2016 to join the Palen Music Center team. He was a band director in Oklahoma for 27 years, having taught in Purcell, Owasso, the Putnam City schools in OKC, and the last eighteen years in Jenks. He earned his BME and MME at the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of the Oklahoma Bandmaster's Association, Oklahoma Music Educator's Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. |
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