Pocatello/Chubbuck School District working on new orchestra plan

The Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 is currently faced with a dilemma. The orchestra classes the district is currently offering will not be available in the same capacity next year.

With only two and a half teachers serving the district’s four middle schools and three high schools, the district is working on a plan to accommodate both the students and faculty.

“And with our current schedule, we’re not able to have our high school orchestra teacher travel,” Director of secondary education Jan Hardwood explained. “We’re enforced to have our high school students, our learners, travel. And this is problematic.”

Currently, the district has two plans for next year.

The first would offer the orchestra classes at each of the three high schools on a trimester system. This means each school would host the class for one-third of the year and have the students travel to schools where the courses are offered.

The second plan would offer the programs at each of the schools as a “zero hour” course. In this situation, the students wouldn’t need to travel but they would need to come in before school starts.

A plan that one parent thinks is equally poor.

“I really don’t think it’s a better option,” orchestra parent Joe Hyde said. “I mean, it’s certainly an option but there’s so many other things that have their zero-hours there like Gate City seniors and I’m sure other high schools have their equivalents…there’s all sorts of things competing for that zero hour.”

Both options have their pro’s and con’s but it seems that one issue is present in both scenarios: travel.

Another issue is scheduling. Students who would have to travel would miss significant class time, in both academics and their selected arts.

It’s something that students, parents and teachers brought up during the district’s board meeting Tuesday, although the item was not on the agenda.

The district doesn’t want to make the change but is not currently in a financial position to add another orchestra teacher.

The district has not yet decided which plan it will use but plans to put something in place by the end of the month, since elective sign-ups begin on February 4th.