Reply to Choir Teacher at a W school takes advantage

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes.   What is the attire for other MCPS high school choirs?  Would be interested I. Hearing of a large expenditure is asked of the parents. [/quote]

The biggest problem is the grade deduction tied to dress code infringement. It's not allowed.

Performance clothes cost what they cost, but multiple layers needing hemming is NOT practical and parents can definitely complain. A public school chorus should not have more than one performance uniform.

Finally, the teacher should always add a line in their email about the school helping families in need who cannot afford the special outfit. This is a Bethesda-area school with a well-funded PTA. These schools are ready and able to help, but the teacher has to know how to handle that and not pick something completely over the top in the first place.[/quote]

Churchill Parent here (not OP) -

Many programs at our school have a similar expectation for financial expenditures except for the requirement tied to a class grade. My child dropped out of band when we were asked to provide financial proof of our financial hardship when we spoke up. It was embarrassing and sucked the interest for my child to continue with band. We experienced the same problem when it came to financial expectations for athletic teams. Parents were expected to pay between $100 to as high as $300 in fees to a team account managed by parents, not the school.

It’s insensitive to set financial requirements so outrageously high and totally unnecessary.

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Certain activities require gear. I understand some specialized dresses for chamber, like uniforms/warm up gear for poms. My kids had to buy several tops, a jacket and pants. It was about $200. We bought directly,  so the money did not go to the principal.  When my youngest was in theatre, we had to pay a fee. It went straight to the drama production,  not to the principal.  If people can't afford these, they can get a waiver. What's wrong with providing financial proof of need?

Chamber is a different chorus from concert ot treble,  so they would each have their own uniform.  (Though, typically, concert would use robes owned by the school and treble might be student-owned pieces in certain colors).[/quote]

What it comes down to is that MCPS or the school doesn't value the arts/music as much as sports since sports uniforms are provided.  A simple dress code is reasonable.  A $100 dress is not.  I wouldn't spend that much on myself except a special occasion so I wouldn't want to for a growing child either.   [/quote]

Another WCHS parent here.  I've been really surprised by the expectation that parents pay for so much.  When I was in HS a million years ago, the school provided everything.  In band, we had fancy dresses for concert band, uniforms for marching band, t shirts and suspenders for pep band-they were kept in stock at the school (as an adult, it seems like it would have been a problem to have all of the right sizes but I was involved in uniform distribution and it was actually never an issue).  We did have to have our own black shoes (but brand/style wasn't specified) and I think boys had to provide their own bowtie because they kept getting stolen from the stocks.  But nothing expensive was ever expected.  Of course, we also had to do a lot of fund raising (for band trips, mostly).  But back in the day, we actually did the fund raising--sold snacks at public events, walked door to door to sell oranges, etc.  I suppose our parents bought more oranges than they would have wanted, but we absolutely sold these things throughout the neighborhood.

My kid was in WCHS newspaper class a few years ago and had to sell two subscriptions (I think $20 each).  I guess this is technically fundraising rather than asking parents to pay, but realistically, no one is going to buy a Churchill newspaper subscription.. we just paid the $$ ourselves, as I'm sure all parents did.  Seemed very strange to me to be a class requirement (for which he received a grade).  
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