"I have been a public school teacher for 28 years. When I started at Sparks Middle School (while also working with four or five additional elementary schools), I created a string orchestra program with the 15 students I had adopted from the previous teacher. At that time, strings started in the fourth grade, and the middle schools offered many electives: a very successful fine arts and music program (including string orchestra, band, choir, and drama), industrial arts, home and careers, languages (French, Spanish, German), art. Students had room in their schedules for two electives, and they had PE every day.

"Over the years, even as budgets decreased, my program grew from those first 15 students to over 100 students. Then NCLB arrived. "Some of my students began getting pulled out of my classes involuntarily to take second math classes. Then our schedule was reduced from seven periods to five. All of the foreign language classes were eliminated from the schedule, PE was reduced to one semester per year, and industrial arts was eliminated. Elective scheduling options were reduced from two full-year periods to one full-year period, and PE joined the electives as an optional class.

I had to fight vigorously for a schedule to be to created that would allow me to remain at the middle school with my very successful program and still travel to the other four or five elementary schools and remain a full-time teacher.

"Needless to say, the requirements now make it extremely difficult for many students to take strings, especially if they have any math or English difficulties. My program has fallen from a peak of over 100 students to 42 students. Students who have difficulties in math and English may flourish in music. In the words of one of my former students: 'The only reason I stayed in and completed high school was because I could play the viola in my high school orchestra.'

"I will never forget the anguished look on the face of the young man (the fifth in a family of musicians whose siblings had preceded him) when his counselor came to my class and told him his schedule would be changed-and he was removed from my class right there and then. "It is becoming harder and harder to justify funding for our diminished music program when our school board looks at the severely reduced budgets, due to the funding transferred to fund NCLB.

 "Besides the severe effect this has had on my students, I, as a teacher, am also personally affected by NCLB. Our state, Nevada, has had to legislate financial incentives to attract and retain teachers for Title I schools. However, there is too little funding for this program. I teach with colleagues who are getting huge bonuses that I do not receive, despite having been forced to be assigned to these schools because I am highly qualified. I am not compensated for this additional burden because even though I teach the same students, I am not a classroom teacher, a teacher of English or math or special ed.

Hundreds of studies have proven the many benefits of music (improving students' test scores in math and reading), yet NCLB puts the cart before the horse. If we really wanted to improve all of our students' math and reading skills and truly leave no child behind, we would start with music in order to train these children's brains at an early age, wiring their brains to better process math and language.

"Enough is enough. My students deserve music and an opportunity for right-brain activities. No more NCLB!"

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