Gilroy
– Eight underachieving band members will not keep the other 47
academically eligible students in the Brownell symphonic band from
missing a performance in Disneyland, said Principal Joe
DiSalvo.
Gilroy – Eight underachieving band members will not keep the other 47 academically eligible students in the Brownell symphonic band from missing a performance in Disneyland, said Principal Joe DiSalvo.
“I’m 100 percent committed to having the 47 go,” he said.
However, for two panic-filled days, the 47 students thought they would not participate in Disney’s Magic Music Days – a three day, invitation-only trip in mid-May that the school has attended for 15 of the past 17 years.
The anxiety stemmed from a letter bandleader Tom Brozene sent home to parents Tuesday stating that the trip had been canceled due to the poor grades and behavior of eight students. The band would lack musical integrity without the eight students, many of whom played brass instruments, he said.
For students and parents of this year’s trip, the poor academic performance of a few students was not a reason to stifle the enrichment of many.
“Many students have joined the band just to become eligible for this trip and they were looking towards it all year long. To take away such a great cultural and social experience at this late date is nothing short of a disaster,” wrote Mike Alvarado, parent of a high-achieving, 14-year-old clarinetist.
Alvarado was not alone in his opinion and appeals from him and other parents motivated DiSalvo to meet with Brozene in hopes of finding a solution that would satisfy all parties, DiSalvo said.
Six of the eight underachieving students are ineligible for the trip because they are earning grade point averages below 2.0 – the equivalent of a C. These students could go on the trip if they raise their grades. The two other students cannot earn back their spot on the trip – at least one of the students is ineligible because of a suspension earlier in the year.
DiSalvo, Brozene and guidance counselors plan on making the six academically ineligible students and their families sign contracts when they return next week from spring break. The contracts would allow the students to go on the trip if they pledge to raise their grade point averages above 2.0 and not be failing any classes by May 9, the next grading period.
“It’s not just for the trip, it’s the right thing to do,” said DiSalvo of the effort to raise student grades.
The contracts would be an attempt to affect lasting academic change, he added.
“We don’t want them to go back down (after May 9),” he said. “We want them to maintain a minimum of 2.0 grade point average for the semester.”
Should the students fail to meet their contracts, the school will take measures to ensure that the 47 other band members make the trip with a quality band intact, said DiSalvo. Ideas include utilizing substitute members from the Brownell concert band – comprised of younger students with less experience than those in the symphonic band – or from South Valley or Solorsano middle schools.
The 47 students who qualified for the trip “should not be held hostage to the other eight students that didn’t make the grade,” he said.
However, his opinion runs counter to Brozene, who said substitute musicians are not an option.
“If we can’t go because of grades in this special circumstances, then we can’t go,” he said. “It’s not that I’m hard-nosed, but I think that we should put out best foot forward when we go play. We are representing Gilroy, we are representing our school.”
The whole episode has been a lesson in what it is to be part of a team, said trustee Francisco Dominguez.
The students need to achieve as individuals, but “as a band, they also need to work toward completing everything,” he said. If they don’t, “then I don’t see why they should go.”
Calling off the trip again, while a possibility, is not likely to happen as the underachieving students will probably shape up during the coming month, said Brozene. The six academically ineligible students know that 47 other students are depending on them.
“They can’t let the team down,” he said.
