BCSD Students Find Their Rhythm During Music in Our Schools Week

Cheers erupted and feet tapped as students from across Bakersfield City School District (BCSD) gathered throughout the week for school assemblies celebrating the district’s annual Music in Our Schools Week (MIOSW).

The annual MIOSW assemblies are making their way to each BCSD elementary school Aug. 17–27, led by the district’s 11 elementary music teachers. Following this year’s “K-Pop!” theme, students are being introduced to the variety of instruments they can learn to play through the district’s award-winning music program.

Students also got a taste of what those instruments can do, with teachers performing familiar favorites from K-Pop Demon Hunters, The Legend of Zelda, and Harry Potter, along with mariachi music.

Michael Stone, coordinator for BCSD’s Visual and Performing Arts Department, said the value of music education can be seen across many aspects of a student’s school experience. He emphasized several years of BCSD data show a correlation between participation in music and stronger student attendance and academic performance.

For David Green, an academic coach for BCSD, music education also provides students with something that can be just as meaningful as the skills they develop in the classroom.

“It gives them another sense of belonging — when you’re playing in an ensemble, it’s kind of like a sports team,” Green said. “They get to make music together, and play in concerts together, so we’re all working towards a common goal that gives them a real sense of pride to belong in a group.”

Those opportunities begin early in BCSD. The district’s Visual and Performing Arts Department offers instrumental music classes at all comprehensive schools, with third graders introduced to the recorder and students able to choose a musical instrument beginning in fourth grade.

And the program continues to grow.

Stone credited Proposition 28 with helping BCSD nearly triple its Visual and Performing Arts faculty over the past three years, growing from more than 20 teachers to 60. Approved by California voters in 2022, the measure provides ongoing dedicated funding to expand arts and music education in public schools. He said the additional resources have also allowed the district to purchase more instruments, giving more students opportunities to participate in music education.

BCSD hopes to build on that momentum by expanding its mariachi program to schools across the district.

At Williams Elementary, Principal LaFleasha Owens is beginning her first year as principal, but her support for music education is anything but new.

“I feel that music in our schools is important because there is a correlation between academics and learning music,” Owens said. “I was gung ho when I found out that the department would be coming to our school so early in the school year, that way we can get as many students enrolled as possible.”

Owens also knows firsthand the impact learning an instrument can have on a student’s life. She played the clarinet as a student and said music gives children another way to express themselves.

“When students are in tune with music, they develop rhythm and understand the connections between the emotions that come from hearing music,” she said.

Owens said the program can also help students who may already be musically inclined or play by ear take the next step by learning to read music.

For her, the hope is that the excitement generated by the assembly carries into the rest of the school year.

“I’m excited to give my students that opportunity,” Owens said. “I hope that a lot of them sign up for the program after today’s assembly, so they can continue to get that exposure and learn how to read and play the music.”

Meanwhile, at Downtown Elementary School, this year marks fourth graders’ first opportunity to choose an instrument through the district’s music program.

Students Mikie, Emma, Valentina, and Olivia were present and actively dancing and singing along during the assembly, with “Takedown” and “When the Band Comes Marching In” emerging as some of their favorites. 

“I loved the marching band,” Mikie said. “It’s the one that made me dance.”

His classmates agreed stating that they are looking forward to learning instruments of their own and one day creating that same experience for others.

“I want to do music like that to bring people joy and because it sounds beautiful,” Olivia said.