As we continue to raise donations to help replace the instruments lost in schools affected by the devastation of the recent hurricanes, we are pleased to share this note of gratitude from Linda Fletcher, Director of Fine Arts, Pasadena ISD in Texas.
“There have been many tears shed over the past month as a result of Harvey, but none more welcome and beautiful than those each time I read an email from Music Rising helping our students get music instruments back in their lives after Harvey’s devastation. Now, more than ever, they need their instrument and Music Rising has made that possible for over 50 of our students. On behalf of the Pasadena Independent School District, our amazing band and orchestra directors and our precious students, please let me express our unspeakable gratitude for the generosity of Music Rising.
As a suburban district, we are often overlooked as one that serves a community of hard working families who even before the storm often struggled to make ends meet, much less find the financial means to allow their children to participate in the Fine Arts, particularly band and orchestra where obtaining a musical instrument can be daunting. Pasadena ISD, its administration and school board all believe that the Arts, and music in particular, are important building blocks in overall education. PISD is now in our 11th year as one of the Best Communities for Music Education and a large part of that is the tremendous financial investment PISD has made in making instruments available to students from every financial situation. Our annual rental policy is only $30.00 per year and when that is not feasible, we make arrangements to underwrite their rentals. The rental fees go solely toward repair and maintenance of the instruments and purchasing additional instruments when possible. After teaching elementary music and Intermediate & High School choir for 30 years in PISD, I have been blessed to serve as the Director of Fine Arts for the past 12 years. Our Fine Arts faculty now consists of 299 teachers and directors serving over 90% of our student population in K-12.
We are blessed to have been directed to you during this time of need. Words are often incapable of expressing our true feelings but in His wisdom, God gave us music. Thank you for helping us keep the music playing in our schools!
Linda Fletcher
Director of Fine Arts
Pasadena ISD
Pasadena, TX 77502″