Gypsum Creek Middle School teacher leaving on a high note, bolstering the music program

Lynn Jiron wants to leave Gypsum Creek Middle School on a high note.

Jiron, the school’s music teacher, decided recently that the school needs to build up its inventory of musical instruments. It looks as if about $10,000 worth of help is on the way for the next school year.

Jiron on May 14 spoke to the Gypsum Town Council and asked for money to purchase instruments for students to rent at discount prices.

The entire list — two flutes, four clarinets, one bass clarinet, three alto saxophones, one tenor saxophone, a baritone saxophone, four trumpets, three trombones, a baritone and a tuba — packs a hefty pricetag of around $30,000.

Jiron’s request didn’t hit that level, but her request to Town Council members was well received. Council member Scott Green, a former president of the Eagle County School District Board of Education, suggested the town provide $5,000 if the district matched that amount.

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It looks as if that’s going to happen. Superintendent Philip Qualman wrote in an email that the Eagle County School District has increased its discretionary funding to schools for the 2024-25 school year. That money can help buy instruments at schools with music programs, Qualman wrote.

That’s going to happen at Gypsum Creek.

An ‘awesome’ start

Just after the eighth-grade band played at a Tuesday pep assembly, Gypsum Creek Principal David Russell said the prospect of $10,000 for instruments for the music program is “awesome,” and praised Jiron for her effort, especially as she’s leaving the school to pursue other interests.

As she herded the students into the gym, Jiron said she wanted to leave something to the school, especially for kids who “look like me,” something that had struck her as she was growing up.

Jiron came to Gypsum Creek in January of 2020. The school had a small collection of instruments for students to use. But there was nothing written down about what the school owned, or who was using those instruments.

On her own time, Jiron started the work of what the school owned, and who was using which instruments. She also noted the replacement price of all those instruments — which is hundreds of dollars for individual instruments.

The good news is that the kids tend to take care of the instruments they check out. Since Jiron started her inventory system, only one instrument came back that wasn’t repairable.

Of course, there is some damage in the course of everyday use. A clarinet has a lot of tiny screws that can pop out with normal use, and that requires a careful, adult eye.

Jiron, who grew up playing the clarinet, can do many minor repairs herself, which saves money to be used for sheet music or other needs.

Helping students’ families

Saving money for families is the idea behind the school-owned inventory. That’s important in a school where there are a lot of students whose families don’t make a lot of money. Providing quality instruments to those students is a matter of equity, Jiron said.

All students enrolled in electives pay a $15 per year activity fee. An instrument rental from the school is another $55 per year. That’s a bargain-basement price compared to renting or purchasing from private firms although private firms have rent-to-own options for students interested in playing through the rest of their school years.

The school can provide instruments to 64 students, but not all of those instruments are in great condition. As the school year ends, there are 58 students in sixth through eighth grade. There’s no instrument sharing, especially in a post-COVID world. And kids do need to practice.

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Although Jiron is leaving Gypsum Creek, she hopes parents and administrators throughout the district continue to stock up on instruments for the students.

“Anybody can send donations to the music programs, or find an instrument that isn’t being used,” she said. Jiron found one of Gypsum Creek’s instruments, a bass trombone, for $35 at a yard sale. “All the schools need updates to their instrument inventories,” she noted. “We can all try to help wherever we can.”