FOCUS ON BUDGET: FTE and the Staffing Ratio, Part 2: The Music Teacher

March 21, 2007

* NOTE: This article is the second of two articles on Full Time Equivalency (FTE) and the Staffing Ratio; see Part 1, and concludes a multiple-part series on FTE.

Every true music educator believes that every child should have the opportunity to participate in music, and music should be a part of every child's basic (core) education. Unfortunately, the success of any music program is rarely measured by achieving those goals.

"Success" is more likely determined by less reliable means, such as the size of a single performing group (band, orchestra, choir) or the number of awards school groups have received. This type of success, though certainly meaningful, often has little or nothing to do with whether there is adequate staffing for student music programs.

The situation is complicated by at least two additional factors:

• The teaching loads of current music staff may already be so large they cannot possibly teach a greater number of students.
• The community, school board members, administration, and even music teachers may hold an underlying elitist attitude that "music is only for a few truly gifted or talented students." (As one music coordinator stated, "We start 500 grade five students in instrumental music each year and, by the time they are in high school, we have them weeded down to the best 50!")

So, how can pro-active music education advocates use data related to the Staffing Ratio (Student-Faculty Ratio or SFR) in music to address these problems? Real data makes it possible to document some of the underlying issues that can limit student access to quality music programming.

SFR Data: 4 Valuable Discoveries

Here are four of the most common positive outcomes that may be achieved by data collection and analysis:

Data can reveal the relationship between the SFR established in the district budgeting process and the (usually higher) SFR of music teachers.
Data can show that it's possible for every child to receive a music education based on the relative adequacy of staffing.
Data can demonstrate program growth, ie, the need to add more positions to provide instruction to the greatest number of students.
Data can prove the negative impact that proposed staff cuts would have on students' ability to receive a music education.
SFR Data: Revealing The Problems

Look carefully at the following three tables. Each shows data samples about current staffing in a school district’s music program. And, as you’ll see, whether the district is small or large, each reveals a lack of awareness about how many staff are really needed to provide a semblance of excellence in music programming.

Figure 1 below represents the average allocation of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) per school in each area of the music curriculum.
 

People in the community and district generally believed that the music program was healthy. This was based primarily on wonderful media coverage about the achievements of selected performing groups within the district.

But, look closely at the data and you'll see quite a different picture. Here are just a few key observations about the data extracted from Figure 1:

• There are no general music instructors at the elementary level. (Those positions had been eliminated in a previous round of cuts.)
• If you divide 29 elementary schools by 3 FTE teachers, each instrumental music teacher provides instruction to students in grades five and six in at least nine schools.
• If you add all the available FTE for music instruction at the middle schools, you arrive at a total of 5.666. When you divide that number by 6 schools, you have less than 1.0 FTE per school for general music, band, choir and orchestra.
• Statistically, no school in the district has a full time instructor in any area of the music curriculum; that is, all teachers appear to have multiple school assignments.

Bottom line? The lack of adequate staffing in any curricular area renders it impossible to provide adequate music instruction to the greatest student population.

This problem is further demonstrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2 illustrates the Student-Faculty Ratio of music teachers. The SFR is calculated by comparing the number of students eligible to participate in each curricular area in music to the available number of FTE teachers actually providing instruction in each area.
 

In Figure 3 below, you'll see similar results when statistical data was collected in a small district with only one public school at each level:

While minimal FTE was allocated for elementary general music, none provided FTE for elementary band, choir or orchestra.

The evidence is clear in both large and small districts: at current FTE levels, it is simply not possible for every child to participate in music in any area of the K-12 music curriculum. Previous cuts in staffing are part of the problem. Additional cuts would only make the situation worse.

The only solution is to assign new FTE to the music curriculum.

Until next time,
John Benham