I came into a program where a guy had been doing that half-donkey job for a decade at my primary feeder. I had ZERO kids capable of playing at anywhere near grade level except for a highly dedicated clarinet player who practiced two hours a night. I did what I could and remediated what I could - but I also only had thirty kids in band due to scheduling and the reality of my situation, and then eight of those kids left after the year was over due to graduation or to go work.
"Take the hit" and "go non-varsity that year" only helps if you can actually remediate an entire program's worth of kids in one year. But then next year, when your new 9th graders are *again* three years behind, and your better kids have gotten bored with playing "baby music" and moved on?
Playing NV isn't the answer for long. What works is fixing the problems with teaching. OP needs to get admin on board. You're an admin - would you allow a teacher to remain in a position whose STAAR scores show regression (or at least lack of progress) for multiple years in a row, or would they be placed on a growth plan and/or non-renewed?
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