Before the bell rings, the band classroom at in Brighton is chaos. Dozens of students in a semicircle play their trumpets, horns and drums over each other.
鈥淓verybody say, 鈥楽hh鈥�.,鈥欌�� said band director Aaron Carnahan, calling class to order with a baton in hand.
The eighth-grade class was rehearsing for their final concert as middle schoolers.
鈥淭his is the first time, so if there鈥檚 any weirdness, that鈥檚 okay,鈥� Carnahan said assuringly, before the group launched into a piece called 鈥淏ugs.鈥�
When Carnahan first arrived at Vikan three years ago, there was an intro-to-music class, but no band. He immediately began working to change that by handing students instruments the school had laying around.
鈥淎t first, we had to do a lot of sacrificing of convenience,鈥� Carnahan said. 鈥淭hings like sharing instruments and sanitizing in between.鈥�
He sourced second-hand woodwinds and brass from organizations such as and nearby high schools. He went classroom to classroom recruiting kids to join. Now, about 180 kids 鈥� almost half of the school鈥檚 students 鈥� are in band.
This level of participation is a big deal because Vikan is a , meaning it serves many students from low-income families. Most can鈥檛 pay all of the fees for instrument rentals. So, Carnahan has had to piece things together through donations.
Lack of data
Classes like music, art and theater are no longer a staple of public education. Still, some schools are building thriving programs with minimal resources.
鈥淚t's really not fair that some children have access to the arts in their K-12 years, and some do not 鈥� and some have absolutely no access,鈥� said Daisy Fodness-McGowan, the executive director of , a Denver-based nonprofit.
A 2011 report from the suggested arts classes had been declining since the 1980s.
Colorado lacks comprehensive data on how much arts education students receive. Fodness-McGowan鈥檚 organization is trying to fill in some gaps with , which revealed a decline, especially in rural areas.
鈥淚t all comes down to money,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it's going to be district by district, and even largely school by school, to decide where that funding goes.鈥�
As a classically trained actor and dancer, Vikan Middle School Principal Fabricio Velez said he understands the value of providing arts opportunities to students.
"We do whatever it takes," he said. "That does not mean that we have the funds 鈥� it just means that we prioritize."
That might mean not being able to send as many teachers to professional development conferences, supplementing other areas of the budget with grants and reevaluating its offerings.
Next year, Vikan is dropping its choir class for more career and technical education options. He said that decision was made based on student interest.
Passionate teachers
Across the state, passionate teachers like Carnahan are keeping classes like dance, theater and music strong. He said his goal was to make band at Vikan Middle School invaluable. A big part of that, he said, was getting students to like and trust him.
鈥淚 always try to make as many jokes as possible,鈥� Carnahan said. 鈥淛ust let them know that even on the stressful days, we'll have at least a little bit of fun.鈥�
His class could be the reason some kids come to school.
鈥淭here are those kids who would, on a day where they just weren't feeling it or were kind of sick, would otherwise choose to stay home,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut many of them end up coming to school because they're like, 鈥榃ell, I don't want to miss band. We're running this song today and I really don't want to miss that.鈥欌��
Research supports the idea that arts education pays dividends for students, leading to , and even .
The best part of the day
Band class is the best part of the day for Brayden Williams, who dons a cowboy hat and boots.
鈥淚 always love being able to play that first note of the day,鈥� he said.
Williams picked up the alto saxophone as a sixth grader in Carnahan鈥檚 class. Now, in eighth grade, he鈥檚 part of an after school ensemble and composes his own songs. He wrote one for his grandmother, who is fighting cancer. He said being in band helped him with another one of his passions: taekwondo.
鈥淢aking our own choreography; learning how to be on beat and on time with everything,鈥� he said.
While Tiffany Escobar Apodaca joined the band a bit later 鈥� midway through last year 鈥� she jumped right in.
She had played piano before, but said it was fun learning her new instrument, the tenor saxophone. She said students in the class are supportive and help each other through tough sections.
鈥淲e can get something wrong and nobody will shame us for it really at all,鈥� she said.
Strings are next
At the end of the school year, parents, grandparents and siblings packed the gymnasium for the spring concert. They filled up the bleachers and spilled into overflow chairs lined up along the edges.
The middle school students took their seats with their respective grades, wearing all black concert outfits. Carnahan said this concert was particularly special because the eighth graders were his first group of band students at Vikan, and now they鈥檙e moving on to high school.
鈥淚t's always the bittersweet feeling of sending them on to live the rest of their life and still being proud of all the work that they've done,鈥� he said.
But Carnahan has a lot to look forward to. This upcoming school year, he鈥檒l launch a brand-new string orchestra. Donated violins and cellos will arrive over the summer, ready to make music in new hands.
