Photo courtesy of Erin Lyon.
Chelsea Middle School band director Erin Lyon received a grant check from Chick-Fil-A and television station ABC 33/40 earlier in school year.
Erin Lyon is wrapping up her first year as band director at Chelsea Middle School, and she’s already secured more than $26,000 in grants for the program.
The most recent award was $20,000 from the Alabama State Department of Education, as part of the Alabama Arts Education Initiative. Grants are given to public schools and community organizations in order to strengthen the development and implementation of a comprehensive arts education program, according to the program’s website.
Lyon said the grant will allow the band to purchase school-owned instruments and formal concert attire.
“This will be the first time the Chelsea Middle School band will have formal wear, which includes tuxedos for boys and black dresses for girls,” Lyon said. “We will also be able to purchase several school-owned instruments for the band program and let students use them throughout the year. We will be purchasing a tuba, euphonium, bass clarinet and French horn. These instruments will be used for decades by kids coming through the band program.”
The grant will also fund recruiting materials and $4,000 for professional development, so Lyon can attend multiple national conferences for music education without using funds from the band account. She plans to attend three conferences during the next year, including the Texas Bandmasters Association Conference, which is where she gets many of her ideas.
“Writing these grants takes a lot of time and thought, and it would be awesome to have our community know that we are all working hard for our students to have wonderful opportunities,” Lyon said. “I want to shout it from the rooftops — it’s a big deal.”
The other two grants were received from the City of Chelsea (a $5,000 grant for instrument repair) and a $1,000 grant from Chick-Fil-A Birmingham and the ABC/3340 television station to grow the school’s sheet music library.
Lyon said that Trace Johnson, the assistant band director at Chelsea High School, also received a $20,000 ALSDE grant, which will be used for the purchase of new instrument storage lockers and also includes the $4,000 for professional development. She said it was great that two Chelsea schools were recipients of this grant.
“We are the only two schools in Shelby County that received this grant. It just so happened to be a feeder system,” she said.
Lyon said she is grateful for the state’s support through the Arts Education Initiative.
“Arts education really is important and you have to have money to make a program run, and the state knows it,” she said.
Lyon took over for former director Deana Rizzo, who retired at the end of last school year. Prior to Chelsea, Lyon was the assistant band director at Simmons Middle School in Hoover. This is her 17th year of teaching and third time receiving the ALSDE grant.
The Chelsea Middle band has 176 students involved this year, and next year Lyon expects the number to be around 210 to 215. She said she is grateful for the support of the parents, administrators and teachers and plans to plant her roots at the school.
“This is where I’ll be until I retire,” she said. “The kids are so good here. It’s cool to watch these beginners who don’t know anything about music, except what they were taught in elementary, and see them push through and succeed.”
The Chelsea Middle School band will have their spring concert on May 2 at Chelsea High School and will be wearing their new formal attire for the first time.
