By Joseph Williams | Word In Black
(WIB) – It was a quintessential Hollywood feel-good story. A short documentary spotlighting a small group of technicians selflessly fixing 80,000 instruments for student musicians in Los Angeles’ underfunded public schools won an Oscar at the Academy Awards.
“’The Last Repair Shop’ is about the heroes in our schools who often go unsung, unthanked, and unseen,” Kris Bowers, the documentary’s co-director, said in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony Sunday night. “Tonight, you are sung, you are thanked, and you are seen.”
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Yet when it comes to music programs in public education across the country, however, data show the big picture is far more complex.
While more than 90% of U.S. public school students have access to music education in school, even in the face of district budget cuts, some 3.6 million don’t, according to a major national survey. Those children, according to the survey, are more likely to attend a majority-Black or majority-Latino school, and most of the students at that school are likely to qualify for free or reduced lunch.
At the same time, a recent study found a significant lack of diversity among music educators, an issue that could keep Black and brown children away from the music room.
Amanda Karhuse, an assistant executive director for the National Association for Music Education, believes the Oscar win for “The Last Repair Shop” could help insert music education into the national conversation about equity and public-school funding in public schools. Schools, she said, must see music education as something for all students — an integral part of a student’s education that boosts academic performance and well-being.
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“In Kris Bowers’ acceptance speech, he speaks about how music education isn’t about creating incredible musicians, but incredible humans,” Karhuse says. “When fully funded and supported, music education is a space for all students to develop a sense of self within a community. It is a bridge between school, the community, and the world at large.”
But much like in other areas of education, funding is rarely equal — and exact data is hard to come by.
According to a 2022 survey by the nonprofit Arts Education Project, the U.S. has made significant progress in restoring music education to classrooms after years of budget cuts and declining investment. But while 92% of public school students have access to music education, 3.6 million students “do not have that same opportunity,” according to the survey.
Moreover, “a disproportionate number of public-school students without access to music and arts education are concentrated in schools in major urban communities; have the highest percentage of students eligible for free/reduced price meals; and are either majority Black, Hispanic, or Native American,” according to the survey. “In addition, many of these students without music and arts education attend public charter schools.”
Karhuse said the federal government provides Title I funds for those schools that could be used “to support a well-rounded education that includes music education,” but it doesn’t always make it to the band room.
“Our survey results show that very few schools are using Title I funds for this purpose — usually because the resources are allocated for other activities or because districts lack awareness that the funds can be used for music education,” she says.
In focusing on Los Angeles public schools, “The Last Repair Shop” inadvertently underscored that disparity: it is the last school district in the country to provide instruments, free of charge, to any child who wants to play. And the documentary is expected to kick-start a $15 million fundraising campaign to upgrade instruments and expand the repair program.
But instruments aren’t the only factor in music education, Karhuse said. Poor urban schools, she said, “have a lack of resources and certified music educators.”
“Nearly 93 percent of all music educators are white,” according to a January 2024 report on the state of music educators by the National Federation of State High School Associations. “The lack of diversity creates challenges for students who do not see themselves” leading or participating in music classes.
Ultimately, Karhuse says, school and public officials must steer more money towards music education programs in general, instruct schools how to use Title I funds, and do more to integrate music education into curricula that’s available to all students.
“Music education creates environments that foster community and collaboration among our students,” she says. “These spaces are also the last stronghold of safe spaces for students who may otherwise never attend or engage in school. Our students deserve safe spaces for them to learn, to be challenged and succeed.”