Piano lab at Ramsey pitch perfect

COEUR d’ALENE — Two former storage closets in Spencer Normington's music room have been converted into laboratories where science, music and education live together in perfect harmony.

"It's more than I ever dreamed it would be," said Normington, who has taught at Ramsey Magnet School of Science for 12 years.

For 10 of those years, Normington has served as the school's music specialist. That whole time, every year, he applied for grants to build a piano lab that would give students access to equipment that will help deepen their musical connections and enrich their academic experiences.

Thanks to a $48,360 grant from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, that dream has come true for Normington and the future of music education at Ramsey.

"When we got the letter this summer saying that they were going to donate such a large amount of money, Spencer and I were jumping up and down in excitement," said Principal Crystal Kubista.

The piano lab, which has eight student stations, was installed in September but has only been fully functional for about a month. Students interact with SoundTree technology systems and education software through monitors, headphones and the keyboards to independently learn piano skills while the rest of the class works with Normington in the main room.

"It’s fun and it’s not as controlled as all the other things," said fifth-grader Griffin Phillips. "You’re trusted to be in here and do this by yourself, which feels a lot better than when you have a teacher hovering over you for like 45 minutes a day."

Fifth-grader Kambrya Powers said it was her first time learning how to play piano, something she thought was pretty cool. She said she would say "thank you very much" to the Tribe for investing in Ramsey.

"It's pretty awesome," she said. "We're pretty lucky as a school."

For Normington, this independent learning lab time for a rotating handful of students each class will reduce the number of students in the main room, allowing him more time for more individualized instruction. The kids in the lab will be able to signal through iPad communication if they need assistance with their lessons, but otherwise, they're learning to learn on their own.

Each station is also a recording studio, so eventually the kids will be able to write and sing their own songs, play and record their music and email files to Mom and Dad. The possibilities are endless.

"You can take the songs you’ve been playing on other instruments and now they can play it on the pianos," Normington said. "For them to see that direct correlation has been pretty amazing too, but like I said, far more than I ever imagined."

Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council member Chief Allan and public relations director Jennifer Fletcher visited the school Thursday morning to see students at work in the new lab.

"Anything for the kids," Allan said. "We have a heart for the kids."

The Tribe also awarded Ramsey a grant for $9,805 to provide Chromebook laptops for the music room.

"I think it’s a pretty amazing use of a traditional modern instrument with modern technology," Fletcher said. "That integration in a classroom setting, especially with today's youth, I think, is really necessary in order to cross those musical boundaries."

She said personally, she feels that getting kids involved in arts programs is not only beneficial to creating well-rounded individuals, "but scientifically proven that integrating music and arts into a regular curriculum helps them achieve success in other venues, as well."

"I always am sad when I see arts and music programs go, so to be able to support something like this really is a magnificent achievement for this school," Fletcher said. "They foster this type of learning so much and at the end of the day, these students and their parents are going to see the changes in them when they’re able to study and focus on other things as well."

Kubista said that as a lot of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is incorporating the arts (STEAM), it's important to remember that there is science behind music — pitch, tempo, volume, pressure, sound blending, rhythm, beats and more. And that's just related to the piano.

She said the Tribe has always been a great supporter of Ramsey, and for that support, they're all thankful.

"I just would humbly like to express our gratitude," she said. "We just want to thank them and all they do to support education and all the opportunities they provide our students."