The new school year is underway and most recruiting efforts for the year are complete. There’s never time to relax though – directors must continue to sharpen their recruiting and retention methods. Two final suggestions are offered by MENC member Gary Gribble:

• Be proactive - Once you get students in your program, retention is the next phase. Communicate with your administrators and guidance counselors regularly regarding scheduling. Talk with your students constantly about their participation for the long term. This is especially important during the early years of participation. Don’t be afraid to survey students about program issues related to their participation.

• Be willing to change - Sometimes, we become creatures of habit. Different generations have different priorities and expectations. Be willing to examine your policies and procedures in order to stay current. Look at your calendar and at your budget. Could you make participation more attractive by adjusting your plans? Does the commitment of time outside of school seem in proportion with other activities? Are there sufficient performance opportunities to balance the amount of rehearsal expected? Sometimes these are difficult questions and it is frightening to think about changes in established patterns, however, if you/or the program remains static, you/your program run the risk of becoming dated and falling behind the times.

Gribble concludes by saying “recruiting and retention are vital to the livelihood of our music programs. We cannot assume that students will beat a path to our door. We must be salespersons for our activities and we must make sure that we are fulfilling not only the musical but also the social needs of our students. With careful planning and some creative use of resources, we can do a lot to make our programs attractive to future members.”

Additional Resource: A Practical Guide for Recruitment and Retention

Getting Them and Keeping Them, Part 1
Getting Them and Keeping Them, Part 2

Gary D. Gribble has been the Director of Bands at Pope High School in Cobb County, Georgia since its opening in 1987. Under his guidance, the Pope Band Program has earned a national reputation for excellence in all areas of performance.

--Becky Spray, October 14, 2009 ©MENC: The National Association for Music Education