Setting Schedules Early And Communicating With Everyone In The School Makes Recruiting Easier.

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators

This week we wrap up our six-part series looking at recruiting students for your band program as Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Brent Hopper, Nathan Anderson, and Brandan Bakkala. Brent is Middle School Band Director at Lakeland Preparatory School in Lakeland, TN, which is a town of around 14,000 located just northeast of Memphis. Nathan is a band director at Greene County Tech in Paragould, a city of 30,000 in northeast Arkansas. Brandan is Band Director at Valley View High School in Jonesboro, which is the fifth largest city in the Arkansas, with a population of just over 80,000, and is also located in the northeastern part of the state.

In this episode we'll find out how these educators successfully work with school administration, fellow teachers, and especially counselors, to make sure deadlines are met and schedules are set. They'll also tell us how they communicate with parents and students directly, to let them know more about the band program.

Our conversation was recorded January 3, 2025. We've broken it up into two episodes, and this is part two.