Etobicoke parent Syma Saleem says she’s incredibly disappointed and frustrated that her son Hussain, who just started Grade 6 at his middle school, is facing a one-third reduction in enriched music instruction there.Saleem and other Toronto District School Board parents knew in the spring that a $1.4-million cut was coming to the $5-million itinerant music instructor program — which includes instruction on steel pan, band and string instruments for students in Grades 5 to 8 — but the specifics weren’t made known until late last week.Saleem was told last week by school staff that students at her son’s school, John G. Althouse, will now receive two teaching periods of itinerant instruction, down from three. Saleem has been told the school is also cutting its elite strings, elite band and stage band instruction, offered in Grades 7 and 8.The itinerant music program is part of the “school’s fabric,” Saleem says.“My kids aren’t athletic, but this is something they could take part in that is under the school’s banner and something they can excel at,” says Saleem, whose 15-year old daughter, Mariam, went through the program and continues to play the trombone at a high level. So much so that she plays in a youth band in Etobicoke that recently performed in Washington, D.C.Hussain, 11, plans to take saxophone lessons at John G. Althouse.“The community has invested heavily in helping to purchase instruments for (students in John G. Althouse’s itinerant program) and the auditorium at another local school is full when our students perform there,” Saleem went on to say.Faced with a $67.8-million shortfall, the TDSB made the decision to trim the itinerant music program across the board by 24 per cent in hours allocated, travel time and travel expenses. The board says it has done so in an equitable manner to ensure the program — which exists in addition to regular music instruction ...
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