3 Strategies for Higher Retention Rates

We all strive for high retention rates in our ensembles. In an effort to figure out why our kids choose to stay in our classes, it seems simple to solicit feedback from the kids in our programs. Although it’s important to survey the students we successfully recruit, often we receive validation for the things we are doing well so we continue to do more of those things. However, it occurred to me a few years ago that the students I really wanted to hear from were the ones who were not in my classroom. Why were some students going to another class (or worse yet, a study hall) instead of participating in ensembles? What did they have to say? Why did they make that choice? I talked with the other music teachers in my department and we decided that we needed to start asking questions to the right people. Ultimately, we increased our retention across the board. Here are the three things we did:

Survey the Students

First, we created an exit survey for students who dropped our classes. This served as important insight for the reasons why the students didn’t want to be in the ensembles. We found that a checklist was a good format. It made the survey more accessible and gave them a simple way to communicate. Sometimes students are afraid to be honest because they don’t want to hurt the teacher’s feelings, but if they fill out a checklist, they might be more likely to share how they really feel. We gave them lots of options and asked them to check off whichever ones applied.

For example:

I am no longer singing/playing with the ensemble because I have a conflict with…

• Other classes or lessons
• Lunch/recess
• Other performing ensemble
• Athletics other school activities
• Present instructor
• Other students in ensemble
• Instructor at next level

I am no longer singing/playing with the ensemble because…

• It’s too hard.
• It takes too much time.
• I feel more rewarded doing something else.
• I feel like I’m not good enough.
• I don’t feel good about my efforts.
• I am bored.
• Too much practice time is required.
• I don’t like to sing/play at the concerts.
• I don’t like the music we sing/play.
• I don’t enjoy singing/playing.
• I don’t like playing my instrument. I would rather play the ______________.

There was space at the bottom of the survey for comments that would explain things that needed clarification. For example, if it is a conflict with another class, which class?

Also, we established a pathway for communication. The exit survey needed to be signed by the student’s parents as part of the process to drop the class. We also asked for help from the guidance counselors to make sure the surveys were completed.

Be Objective and Reflective

When reading the exit surveys it was like looking in the mirror, and that was hard...even painful sometimes. It is easy to take things personally. After all, for many of us being a music teacher is a large part of our identity so any negative feedback can be interpreted as an attack on who we are. It was crucial to keep this feedback in perspective with what it was: this was about what we are doing, not about who we are. It was really important to remain as objective as we could when reading the exit surveys and take in all of the responses as good data. We started to challenge ourselves to get curious instead of getting defensive. These kids were giving their honest opinion and in order to grow, we had to be open to it.

For example, last year more than a few students who filled out the survey commented that they did not enjoy the music being performed in our ensembles. At first, this was difficult to swallow. We all take so much time choosing repertoire that is age-appropriate, educationally sound, balanced, accessible, and relevant. What did they mean they didn’t like the music?

But if we wanted to keep students in our program, we had to listen to them. This is when reflection was really helpful. As things came up through the surveys, we started to question the things that we did. Why did we do them? Was there a disconnect between what we wanted and what the students wanted? How could we build that bridge?

In regards to repertoire, I actually changed my approach. I had the students choose an overarching theme for the concert which gave them ownership of the music we were singing. I still chose the repertoire that I thought was best for them, however they felt more connected to the ensemble.

Know Your Numbers

We realized that we couldn’t keep track of trends if we didn’t chart the data. We kept all of the surveys, created spreadsheets, and made charts that illustrated patterns. The numbers were really motivating. The data empowered us to create a music program that gave everyone the opportunity to participate. If students were leaving, then something was missing. While we understood that some of those things were out of our control (like, “I don’t like to sing/play”), some of these answers actually gave us leverage to make change. For example, we noticed that a number of students explained that they had to drop chorus because of a conflict with scheduling. I was able to bring this concrete information to my administrator and guidance counselors to figure out how to fix the scheduling problems (which we did).

While the data is extremely important, numbers do not tell the whole story. For example, we noticed a dip in the amount of students participating in music from sixth to seventh grade. What the numbers couldn’t tell us was that there was a significant amount of students who moved out of the district during that time. Since then, we include notes about the students to explain those types of situations.

Reaching a higher retention rate is very lofty without intentional steps to get there. It will be more attainable by following this process. Once you have all the information, you will then have an ability to see a clearer path to reach your goal!