John L. Miller Great Neck North High School has a lot to boast about. We stand out from other schools across the country in part because we have a different population than an average American high school. We live in a particularly wealthy area in which taxes contribute greatly to teacher and student resources and technology. But beyond the wealth and population differences, our music and technology programs are noteworthy and can be replicated by other schools looking for improvement.
North’s music program, directed by Joseph Rutkowski, is special because of teacher and student dedication and involvement. Mr. Rutkowski runs a morning chamber music class, in-school band and orchestra classes, and after-school band and orchestra sectionals, contributing to perpetual sound flooding out of room 218. Each year, band and orchestra students play all 9 Beethoven Symphonies in addition to the winter, spring, and Artfest concert repertoire.
Ms. Robinson leads a similarly successful chorus program, comprised of in-school and night chorus classes. Several singing groups make up the chorus, including the Long Island Sound, among others.
Our music program, and the instrumental program in particular, has earned notorious acclaim across the country for its success and popularity. For this reason, Mr. Rutkowski has been nominated and acknowledged for a Grammy Music Educator Award several times since he began working at North.
Rutkowski also is invited to present at national music teacher workshops, including one on December 13th and 14th, 2016. Rutkowski led this chamber music workshop at the 70th annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago. According to Rutkowski, the clinic is "designed to help music educators learn how to start a chamber music program in their middle and high schools," Mr. Rutkowski said. "A goal of music education is to help instrumental students find opportunities to make music throughout their lives. Becoming familiar with the activity of playing chamber music will give students the chance to become life-long participants in music."
Another aspect of North that other schools can learn from is our technology program. The influx of iPads to nearly every member of the school has increased student and teacher savviness, keeping us ahead in the ever-evolving technological world. The 9th grade technology classes teach students valuable life skills, such as basic logic, researching, word processing, and Excel usage.
North is also filled with smart boards, computers, laptops, as well as instruments and music equipment. While this is mostly possible due to our school’s abundant funding, for which we should all be grateful, other, less fortunate schools can also make much of this success possible. Strategic budgeting, as well as student-teacher cooperation and dedication goes a long way in making such virtue replicable.