DeKalb County School District

The Department of Choral Music is composed of elementary music specialists and secondary choral directors who serve over 130 schools and centers. The elementary schools receive the services of a music specialist who teaches general music to the entire school population. Some of the schools have two music specialists. In tandem with the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), our elementary music curriculum endorses an orff-based process of instruction. The new GPS for fine arts [ https://www.georgiastandards.org/standards/GPS%20Support%20Docs/Fine-Arts-Music-GPS.pdf ] is available on the Georgia Department of Education's website.

The middle schools and most of our high schools are equipped with keyboard labs which are used as part of the music exploratory program. Chorus classes in high schools are taught by the choral directors. In addition, they teach music appreciation and keyboard classes as demanded by course enrollment. The choral director teaches the exploratory classes and the chorus classes. Incorporating the new GPS for choral music, middle and high school teachers endorse a kodaly-based methodology of teaching sight reading.

Chorus music students in elementary, middle, and high schools participate in the DeKalb County choral festivals, honor choruses for elementary, middle, and high school students, and in the school system's fine arts showcase event held each March in celebration of music in our schools month. Secondary schools are also encouraged to participate in the Georgia Music Education Association (GMEA) solo/ensemble and large group performance evaluation festival, Georgia all-state chorus auditions, and the GMEA District IV Honor Chorus Festival. Each year, our middle and high school students have the opportunity to audition and participate in the prestigious Spivey Hall Honor Chorus Festival held each October. High school choral students are encouraged to also participate in the governor's honors program auditions each fall.