4th grade strings in Fairfax County

[Anonymous]

Can anyone fill me in on the 4th grade strings program in Fairfax? I know it exists but have not been able to find out the details of it, even on the FCPS website. About when does it start? How does the child choose an instrument -- whatever they want or some sort of try-out; is there a trial period where they can test it out and change their mind? About how much does the program cost? Thanks for any details you can provide.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that each school handles it differently. At our ES, any child who wants to can play a stringed instrument (no audition required), but they must commit to playing for the entire year. If they choose not to, they just take an additional general music instead. For 5th grade, they can choose to switch to band, continue with strings, or just take the additional general music class.

[Anonymous]

Ours was similar to what PP decided. At some point early in the year they had a "strings demo day" where they got to see and try out various instruments. They came home with a paper from the strings teacher with the recommended instrument and size needed if they wanted to participate. We had about 1-2 weeks to get to a store and rent an instrument before the class started.

At our school they could do strings only, chorus only, both or neither. My kid did strings in 4th and did not care for it, so she is not doing it this year (5th). And liek the PP siad they had the choice of band or strings or general music.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you so much for the helpful responses!

[Anonymous]

is it foolish to make it mandatory?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is it foolish to make it mandatory?

It's not mandatory.

[Anonymous]

It's not mandatory.

[Anonymous]

but at our out of state school it is for 4th & 5th. i wonder if people here would against it.

[Anonymous]

14:35 here. (And sorry for all those typos, yikes!!) I think they could only make it mandatory if the district provides an instrument or pays for the rental. The rental was not inexpensive, although I seem to recall there being a line in the note they sent home telling you to contact them for low cost information. But I *think* that was only for families who qualified for free&reduced lunch. There are a lot of families who fall in between for whom that could be a financial hardship.

Also some of the kids were VERY advanced vs. the regular strings class (which assumes no prior knowledge) and I know some people whose kids do outside music lessons who opted out because it wasn't worth their time.

[Anonymous]

My 4th-grader enjoyed it but chose not to do it again in 5th grade (plays piano & wanted to focus on that instead). In our school, chorus was mandatory for 5th-graders & my child really liked chorus a lot.

I also have a rising 4th this year who has expressed interest in strings & will probably do it.

Even if they only try it out for one year, I think it is a nice exposure to an instrument that they otherwise would never try. We have so much going on in our schedules that violin lessons are not an option, but if they can do it at school for a year, I think that's great even if they don't really learn to play well or continue with the instrument. And it's nice that there is no cost other than the instrument rental.

Considering that most of these kids have never played before, and I don't know how much they really practice, I was impressed with their concert performances. I mean, they're not really "good," but can you imagine teaching that many 4th-graders to play string instruments in just a few months?

[Anonymous]

Our DC had received lessons since the 2nd semester of K in another state and was told entering 3rd grade that she could not participate in strings in FCPS by the general music teacher. We later learned the strings time slot conflicted with a core class. In 4th grade we tried again, this time directly with the strings instructor and she, the principal and the home room teacher figured a way to do it with some extra work at home for DC instead of in class. DC ended up being placed in the 6th grade advanced strings. Not sure what we're going to do this year. Bottom line is that you need an principal and home room teacher that will listen and a class schedule that doesn't end up with a significant core requirement during the strings time slot. That and an expectation that this is just an interest, if you want your child to be a high level performer this isn't the program

[Anonymous]

A tip, we bought our child a violin from the internet for less the $100. Rental store wanted $25/month for the same violin. Plus we have a 2nd child that will be able to reuse the instrument.