Postcards: Americas High School - El Paso, Texas
Postcards is an Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) and GuitarCurriculum.com series that explores the guitar programs around the nation and strives to bring the guitar teacher community together.
This week’s Postcards is written by Adrian Saenz, guitar director at Americas High School in Socorro ISD* in El Paso, Texas. He is currently in his 16th year of teaching at Americas HS and his 20th year in public education. In the larger guitar community of Texas, Saenz edited and revised the UIL Guitar Prescribed Music List from 2007 to 2016. Saenz also holds a bachelor’s degree in general music from UTEP, a master’s degree in music education from NMSU, and as a guitarist, he studied under Stefan Schyga, Aquiles Valdez, and John Siqueiros.
In this postcard, Adrian Saenz discusses the successes of his guitar program, but he also talks about some of the challenges his program faces due to district policies and changes.
Postcard from Americas High School in El Paso, Texas
By Adrián Sáenz
Hello from El Paso! In this postcard I’d like to share a bit about us, a challenge, and an inspiration.
About us: There are three major school districts in El Paso Region 22 (El Paso ISD, Ysleta ISD, Socorro ISD) and four smaller districts. Within these districts, there are approximately 25 high school guitar programs and a few middle school programs. Americas High School (AHS) is in Socorro ISD.
AHS has seen particular success at UIL Contest. We usually register one of the largest entries at regional UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest, and a lot of our students advance to Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest (TSSEC). A high percentage of students even receive number 1 ratings at TSSEC.
On an individual student level, AHS Guitar has had 3 outstanding soloists at TSSEC (2012, 2015, and 2016). These outstanding soloist awards were accompanied with offers of full scholarships to continue their studies at various Texas universities, including UTSA and Sam Houston. Many of our guitar students have gone on to study at North Texas and UTEP. Perhaps our biggest accolade is Dario Barrera who received a full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music in 2018 and is currently studying under Oren Fader.
A challenge: My enrollment has dropped over the last 3 years, so I am rebuilding. One reason is that students are now required to select an endorsement (Graduation Plan) in middle school leading into high school (you can read more about this plan here). Band, orchestra, and choir students in the middle school feeder programs mostly select this endorsement, and the other career paths only allow for 1 year of a fine arts class. Compounding this issue is the lack of middle school guitar programs, meaning students are not seriously studying guitar at the time they are making these important decisions.
Lastly, because Texas has just one fine arts requirement, there are many “one-and-done” students who just need to fulfill the single fine arts credit requirement. So I often have high numbers in the beginner classes with low enrollment in the upper classes.
To counteract this I am advocating for more middle school guitar programs. Currently, I am personally teaching 40 students at a local middle school split across two guitar classes. We also have a phenomenal Mariachi instructor who is teaching four beginner guitar classes in an effort to build up our guitar program. The students in these classes will be able to enter the intermediate guitar class at AHS their freshmen year.
An inspiration: I took a trip, along with the Socorro HS guitar director, to Austin in 2016. The purpose of the trip was to observe the Guitar Concert and Sight-Reading Contest in Austin ISD. We were impressed with the quality of high school and middle school guitar programs from Austin ISD and around the state of Texas that participated at the Austin ISD Guitar Concert and Sight-Reading Contest.
This inspired us to build our own Guitar Concert and Sight-Reading Contest. And In 2017, we were able to implement the Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation at Socorro ISD. In 2019 all 6 high schools in the Socorro District registered a Varsity and Non-Varsity group for 12 total groups. This was made possible with the help and guidance of Austin Classical Guitar and Edward Grigassy and Susan Rozanc from the Texas Guitar Directors Association.
In conclusion: The Socorro ISD high school guitar programs believe in the importance of advocating for music instruction; to teach the correct methods, techniques, best practices, and music literacy to elevate the status of the guitar. In order to secure the guitar’s future, we must establish guitar programs that are aligned to the national and state music standards to provide guitar students with a high-quality level of instruction. Socorro ISD is committed to elevating the guitar programs through the development of music education, establishing the guitar concert and sight-reading evaluation, and developing performance skills necessary for acceptance to music universities.
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And finally, I am excited to work with Dr. Joseph V. Williams II, Artistic Director at Austin Classical Guitar, on their ‘together’ Youth Orchestra Tour in March. Their kids will work with our kids here in El Paso, and make something beautiful for our community.
And that’s it from El Paso for today! If you come to our city, I hope you’ll stop by and see us.
Adrián Sáenz, Guitar Director
Americas High School/Clarke Middle School
*ISD Stands for Independent School District
We’d love to hear about guitar in your part of the world next! Reach out to Jess Griggs anytime with your story and a photo or two.
Postcards: Cleveland Classical Guitar Society - Cleveland, Ohio
Postcards is an Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) and GuitarCurriculum.com series that explores the guitar programs around the nation and strives to bring the guitar teacher community together.
This week’s Postcards is written by Erik Mann, Executive Director of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society.
In this postcard, Erik discusses the arts renaissance in Cleveland, OH and the work the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society is doing in the community.
Postcard from Cleveland by Erik Mann
An arts renaissance is happening in Cleveland. And the societal impact is incalculable.
Under the Arts Mastery initiative of the Cleveland Foundation, eight organizations are changing the city, one student at a time, in the areas of theater, written and spoken word, photography, curatorial arts, dance, voice, stringed instruments, and classical guitar. The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society is proud to be one of these members.
Out of the 71 largest cities in the U.S., the City of Cleveland has the second highest child poverty rate. This is felt on almost every level of a child’s life, presenting numerous barriers to an equitable life. One huge area of inequality is in the arts. Despite one of the greatest arts scenes in the country, few children in Cleveland have a chance to be engaged in meaningful arts learning, including learning an instrument. That is where CCGS has found the opportunity to change a lot of lives.
Since 2012, Cleveland Classical Guitar Society has been working with schools and neighborhood centers to build classical guitar classes where the need is the highest. In the last few years, the achievement of our students has been so exciting to watch, with a feature nationwide on CBS This Morning, two of our students getting into a fellowship at Cleveland Institute of Music, performances prestigious venues like Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra) and Cleveland Museum of Art, acceptance in Interlochen and Brevard summer camps, and much more. Thanks to a recent grant from the Cleveland Foundation, which represents the largest grant in CCGS history, we now have over 550 students in grades 2-12 studying in our program.
Most exciting of all has been the impact on the kids. The Cleveland Foundation recently sponsored a video documenting our program. In it, students and administrators talk about how learning the guitar has increased kids’ confidence, social skills, grades, and attendance; and how our teachers’ mentorship has filled the gap when a parent is missing.
I am so excited for the future of the program. We are moving toward a 5-year goal of increasing the depth of the program while expanding to 1000 students. That means that we are always looking for more teachers with passion and excellence. If that describes you, view our job postings here. And keep using your talents to bring good to the world.
Erik Mann - Executive Director - Cleveland Classical Guitar Society
We’d love to hear about guitar in your part of the world next! Reach out to Jess Griggs anytime with your story and a photo or two.
Postcards: Jennings Junior High - Jennings, Missouri
Postcards is an Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) and GuitarCurriculum.com series that explores the guitar programs around the nation and strives to bring the guitar teacher community together.
This week’s Postcards is written by James McKay, Music Educator at Jennings Junior High in Jennings Missouri. McKay discusses the expressive and therapeutic benefits of playing guitar in this Postcard.
Jennings Jr. High Postcard
James McKay
Here in a little town called Jennings Missouri, some really incredible things are happening. Tightly tucked away between St. Louis (Top 10 most dangerous U.S. cities) and Ferguson (known for the national attention it got from the Mike Brown incident), music has been used to impact the lives of youth who once have and continue to experience trauma.
For a region of this size, the Jennings School District is fairly small. It's comprised of three elementary, one junior, and one high school. In 2014, I piloted a string program that has now blossomed to cover all five buildings. All students started on violin and later, when given a chance, moved on to viola, cello, or double bass. I began to notice that some of the students weren't taking music classes purely for the love of music. Some attended because of what the course did for them - relaxation. On several occasions, when asked about the class, students repeated responded,
"Playing music relaxes me, I feel calm."
Fast forward to 2017, my life was impacted by a visit to the workshop hosted by the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society. A wonderful gentlemen from Austin Classical Guitar introduced me to GuitarCurriculum.com, and immediately, I was SOLD ON the idea of a non-guitarist having the ability to teach classical guitar effectively. Three years later, we have 27 middle schoolers playing guitar and playing several performances throughout the school year. Thanks to the ongoing support from the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society, I can grow my program to scale.
The blessing in disguise here is, some of the students who signed up for the violin ended up falling in love with classical guitar. Our students now have expanded choices for music that helps them to not only express themselves but also enjoy the therapeutic benefits of playing music.
We’d love to hear about guitar in your part of the world next! Reach out to Jess Griggs anytime with your story and a photo or two.