Socioeconomic Status

            According to data made available by the Minnesota Department of Education from the 2012 – 2013 school year, Marshall Middle School in Marshall, MN has 582 students enrolled with 38% receiving free lunch, 7% LEP (limited English proficiency), and 16% SPED. The ethnographic data reveals that 76% of students are white with 24% minority. The two largest minority groups are black (11%) and Hispanic (12%). The overall number of students has grown considerably and, while I don’t have the raw data, personal experience can provide a qualified opinion that minority and low SES populations have grown to a greater percentage. Due to the growth in the population, current building plans are underway including adding to all existing buildings and building a new 3^rd and 4^th grade building.

The city of Marshall is home to about 13, 600 people but that number grows when Southwest Minnesota University is in session. The average income level is almost $60,000, but the SES of families varies with businesses like Turkey Valley Processing providing lower wage jobs and Schwan’s headquarters employing executives as well as lower wage laborers. Some parents are also rural farmers with wages that vary from modest to upper SES. Marshall is also home to Southwest Minnesota State University where the majority of faculty hold doctorate level degrees, but the majority of people in Marshall hold a bachelor’s degree or less. Housing also varies with extensive apartments and a fairly large trailer home community to several “additions” with large homes. Housing prices can reach into the upper echelon, but the median home value is around $149,000. However, that is more a product of the rural market as many of the homes in Marshall would be well over $200,000 in the Twin Cities.

            Among the significant ethic groups is a large, fairly mobile, Hispanic community. Many Hispanic students come and go which makes educating those students very difficult. There is also a large Somalian population and Hmong and Karen refugees. Many students are Christian, particularly Lutheran or Catholic, and the school district respects this fact by avoiding events scheduling on Wednesday nights or Sundays. The size of Marshall makes the school district one of the larger around the area so the district offers a wider variety of extra and co-curricular activities. However, many students are multi-sport athletes because the overall size of the district does not outsize those offerings.

While the overall school population has grown, the numbers of students enrolled in band, orchestra, and choir has grown to a lesser degree. The correlation between high SES and music participation does seem to be in effect currently. Having a fairly high percentage of white students does mean traditional ensembles can thrive; the marching band program has been a large ensemble with mostly white participation though some band students of other cultures do participate. The growing minority population has prompted efforts to include both minority and LEP students in music including a beginning High School guitar course. As the instructor of that course, I have seen a high percentage of minority students enroll including many Somali girls and Karen refugees who are not involved in any ensemble music courses. My current class of twenty five students includes eleven minority students of which six are LEP. Guitar has been particularly successful in reaching LEP students as a good amount of instruction can be done non-verbally. Students who may not be familiar with the music being performed still enjoy playing the guitar in class. Many of the Karen students go to church at the local Baptist church, a phenomenon also noticed in Aberdeen, SD (my dad is the Baptist pastor there). They enjoy learning the chords to their favorite songs from church and help each other learn the songs communally outside of class.

The large number of low SES students (38% receiving free lunch) has also prompted a district wide effort to purchase band and orchestra instruments for student use. The effort is designed to remove all barriers to participation in music and it has been fairly successful. Some students borrow a school instrument and continue through high school, but many play for only a year or two. However, it does give students an opportunity to learn music through performance in a way previously unavailable to them. Most of the LEP students do not participate in band or orchestra, but they do participate in general music and, to some extent, choir. Effort is made to communicate effectively with LEP students and LEP teachers provide training for teachers and support for students with targeted services. We have not considered including music from locally represented cultures in the music curriculum, but it would be an excellent idea. The worry is a lack of authenticity. There are minority advocates who work with the school and might provide good insight into the minority communities in Marshall and their musical cultures.

Some work has been done to help include all students in music offerings in Marshall. The guitar class at the high school is helping to provide minority and LEP students with musical opportunities, but it is only one, short, course. Instruments are provided for low SES students. However, these efforts to not account for enculturation, stratification, and ethnocentrism that might affect the learning and participation of certain populations. Just because band and orchestra instruments are available does not mean these students will participate. Some effort should be made to overcome cultural and social obstacles including stigma related to traditional ensembles and upper SES. More can be done to reach students who would certainly benefit from experiences in music and more should be done as the low SES and minority populations are only increasing in Marshall, MN.