Rabun County Symphonic Band

Where STARs Shine

Nathan Wayne, band senior and Marching Wildcats drum major, has been named Rabun County High School STAR Student for 2010. Nathan has named band director Myron Medlin as his STAR Teacher.

For the past three years, a Rabun County High School Symphonic Band senior has been named STAR Student. This should come as no surprise, since Symphonic Band students have been named STAR Student in over half the years since 1982. Mr. Medlin is one of six RCHS faculty members who have been named STAR Teacher more than three times over the 52-year history of the program.

Although band students make up less than 10% of the RCHS student population, their strong showing in the STAR Student list should come as no real surprise. For years, educational researchers have noted the impact of instrumental music instruction on intelligence and academic performance in mathematics, science, and language arts.

• According to U.S. Department of Education data, students involved in instrumental music programs in middle and high school show “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency” across all socio-economic groups.
• Recent studies in Georgia and Texas found similar results with respect to instrumental instruction and standardized test scores. These studies found significant correlation between the number of years in instrumental music programs and academic achievement in math, science, and language arts.
• A recent University of Kansas study found that students in school music programs scored higher on standardized tests than peers not participating in music programs. Furthermore, higher quality music programs produced measurably better results than less demanding programs.
• According to data from the College Board (publishers of the SAT), music students scored 41 points higher on mathematics and 57 points higher on verbal portions of the SAT than students with no coursework in the arts.
• Stanford University research found mastery of a musical instrument leads to more focused and efficient brain activity detectable in magnetic resonance brain scans.
• Recent Harvard University research found understanding and using musical notation (fundamental to a band program) to be the key in using music to unlock performance improvements in other academic areas.

Does this mean that all band students are rocket scientists? Certainly not. Band students represent the same range of academic talents found in the student population as a whole. However, while band students comprise only 7% – 8% of Rabun County High School students, they are disproportionately represented in the school’s “Top 5%” academic honors list:

• 25% of Seniors are band students, including the valedictorian (Nathan Wayne, Susan Leonard).
• 11% of Juniors are band students (Doug Sidey).
• 38% of Sophomores are band students (Kristen Leonard, Eli Black, Amanda Speed).
• 27% of Freshmen are band students (James Burch, Jonathan Frye, Sabrina Materie).

The benefits of a strong instrumental music program extend beyond just academics.  A Texas study found that instrumental music students had the lowest incidences of substance abuse of any school groups identified. Other studies have found that schools with strong music programs have higher graduation rates and higher attendance rates than schools with weak or no music programs.

Band students learn the value of hard work, learn to organize complex activities, learn to work in a team, learn to lead others, and find themselves in an extended family. All of these benefits are in addition to the simple joy found in making great music.

In short, band is more than simply an academic elective. Evidence suggests continued involvement in band helps students improve performance in other academic subjects.  Band provides opportunites for growth, maturing, and learning important life lessons on the way to being a productive, well-rounded adult.  Band is a place to shine.