How to Fund Your Recorder Program
There are plenty of ways to get recorders in kids’ hands, but what do you do when you really need them to have their own? Loaning school recorders out is hectic, and cleaning and maintaining multiple class sets can be time-consuming. That’s without the fact that having 1:1 recorders can eat most of a music teacher’s budget for the year! The solution for many of us is to have some, if not all, students purchase their own recorder. That comes with several challenges, but with some planning, you can be tootling in no time!
Your first consideration needs to be when to order. Determine when you want to begin teaching recorder, then work backward. Consider a week or so for shipping and check the availability of the specific recorders you need. Give yourself and your kids ample time to communicate with parents and bring in money- that usually ends up being between two and three weeks. Don’t forget time to organize your recorders once they come in, as well.
Collecting money can be scary, but your best friend is your school’s bookkeeper. It is important to do everything they ask, to keep everything, and to stay organized. When in doubt, they’d always rather you ask than guess; a small money mistake can lead to a lot of work for them. Lay out clear expectations for your students turning in money. Ask for an envelope with the information you need on the front (class name, amount, etc.). Keep a spreadsheet as money is turned in, and take your collections to your bookkeeper immediately. Even better, if there’s a way for students to pay virtually, use it.
Tax is a tricky element for determining the costs of recorders. Even though your school may be tax-exempt, you may need to charge tax from your families since they themselves are not. Check with your bookkeeper AND your vendor to be sure that’s possible. Some vendors cannot charge sales tax to certain states.
When asking students to purchase anything, it is critical to consider equity. I will tell you how I approached it but always adjust for your students and their needs. I never required students to purchase a recorder; some chose to, and some did not. I was fortunate to have a class set that was always clean and available no matter what, so every student played every day. I also included a line on my order form that allowed families to purchase extra recorders as donations, then worked with my school to identify students for whom a donated recorder would be a need. You can see how I set it up on the example form below. What is important is to think through potential scenarios and approach that with as much empathy as possible to ensure equity among all your kids.
There are a few other considerations that might be helpful. First, decide if you’re going to bother with recorders that come in various colors. I found that the kids were really excited about that, so I took the time to deal with those orders. You might find that it isn’t worth the work, and that you can see their fingers better on white or ivory recorders. It’s also important to consider recorders that students might bring from home. Explain that their dollar store recorder is fine for practice at home, but it will not sound the same as the rest of the class.
Ordering bundles of recorders can save you (and your families) so much money! Many recorder packages ship for free and can help you build a stockpile of spares. Because of this, you want to be sure you’re doing as few orders from your vendor as possible to get the most bang for your buck. Sending parents to the website to order themselves is an option, but they’ll have to pay the cost of shipping.
Lastly, when the recorders come in, it’s time to teach what I call the “Care and Feeding of Your Recorder”. If we want students to treat their things well, we must teach them how. Explain how to clean, store (to a dog, it looks very much like a stick), and handle the recorder correctly. Set them up for success and have a plan for how to handle lost or broken recorders when they happen. They will.
Having true ownership of an instrument is an amazing step for students. The process of getting an order in with collected money can be daunting, but with these tools, you can get playing quickly and stress-free!
Get the customizable order form.
Blog Post Contributors: Liz Hartley and Sarah Sheehan