The Howard County Board of Education considered cutting third grade strings from its budget for several years. Until last school year, the cut was held back by the powerful endeavors of parent advocacy groups. However, the efforts made to combat the budget crisis couldn’t last forever. 2025-2026 is the first school year that third grade students do not have the opportunity to play the violin, viola, cello, or bass in school.
The third grade strings budget cut will pose challenges to strings programs at every level of learning: elementary, middle, and high school. The cut most immediately affects elementary school programs, impacting both students and educators. Many music teachers were moved around this year. Staff members with fewer years of experience were relocated within the county while teachers with seniority who kept their positions had to pick up more classes.
Diana Fay Williams is the band and orchestra teacher at Longfellow Elementary School. Now that fourth grade strings is a beginner class, she anticipates a lower skill level among future students. “There should be a big difference between my fourth grade orchestra and my fifth grade orchestra next year,” she says.
Ms. Williams also believes the shift in skill level will be noticeable beyond elementary school. “By the time that they get all the way through to high school, I think that there is going to be a lower ability level than there is now.”
Middle and high school teachers will not be affected by the budget cut for another few years. Until then, they are speculating about what its effects will be. Darren McFate, the orchestra teacher at Harper’s Choice Middle School and Murray Hill Middle School, is concerned that the cut will “make it more difficult for middle school teachers to get their strings students from elementary level to high school level.” The middle school strings program is transitional.
According to Mr. McFate, its purpose is to equip students with skills that are necessary for high school. When students come to middle school at a lower skill level than expected, the path to high school becomes longer. Mr. McFate expects having to backtrack to more foundational skills before introducing middle school material. Whether big or small, he believes a change will “definitely be felt.”
Beyond the issue of stunting skill level, I am most concerned about how the cut will impact young students’ relationships with music. Since starting the violin in third grade, I’ve learned that music is a medium like no other. It creates a space for students that separates music programs from other classes, allowing students to express themselves and explore their creativity.
The early opportunity to indulge in the beauty of music by learning how to play an instrument is one that makes Howard County special. Until now, Howard County was one of the few counties in Maryland that offered third grade strings. “The reason why I came to Howard County was because of the music program,” says Ms. Williams. “It was far beyond anything else that [other counties were] doing in Maryland … I just think that it set us apart, and we’re not going to have that anymore.”
In the Wilde Lake community, students exhibit what seems like countless opportunities to make music. Cutting third grade strings limits those opportunities. One less year to play a string instrument in elementary school is one less year of a student’s musical journey. The Board’s new budget shows me that Howard County does not value music as much as it used to. It’s sacrificing music for money with student opportunities caught in the collateral.
To keep the music alive at Wilde Lake, we must support our music families. Our school has an amazing lineup of soloists, bands, choirs, and string orchestras, due in part to our students’ strong musical education. The concerts are energetic and entertaining, and they cover many genres and styles. Boosters and donations are also open.
It was best said by former HCPSS SMOB James Obosiolu during a Board of Ed. meeting at the end of last school year: “When we give children access to beauty, they learn to create beauty in return.” In light of the third grade strings budget cut, let’s support our music families so that we may continue to create beauty here at the Lake.
