White Pine County School District (Nevada) has an immediate opening for an Assistant Band Director!
The position will be head director at White Pine Middle School (6-8) in a 6-12 team-teaching environment. The position will include a MS 7-8 varsity ensemble, homogeneous 6th grade beginner classes, and responsibilities assisting with marching band and sectionals at HS level. The ideal candidate will have a specialization in percussion (preferred) or brass. However, strong teaching ability and pedagogy is most important and woodwind specialists will be considered. Opportunities for percussion ensembles at the ms/hs level and hs jazz band are also available. The ms program closely aligns with the Green/Benzer method, with supplements from other methodologies (we are open minded). Our rec/req equipment lists are currently served through a partnership with music&arts.
White Pine County School District is a rural school district in the Eastern Nevada mountains, outside of beautiful Great Basin National Park. We are the oldest band program in Nevada and have a long, storied history of fine bands. In the past our bands have participated in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade multiple times, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Calgary Stampede, the Cherry Blossom Festival, the MENC National Concert Band Festival, and numerous other concert/marching/jazz accolades.
We are blessed with an *incredibly* supportive administrative team, including a superintendent (with and undergraduate in Music Education), MS Principal, and HS Principal who are all alumni of the program. They are deeply invested in its success and growth. The program is currently in a rebuilding phase under their leadership, and the leadership of an alumnus with a teach background in Texas Bands. Our district also has a very strong ms and hs choir program.
Our district band program is served by two k-5 elementary schools, a 6-8 ms (around 280 students), and a 9-12 hs (avoid 375 students). We are a large AA school in Nevada. Beginning band starts in 6th grade, on flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone in homogeneous classes (switches occur later in 6th/7th grade). Recruiting and instrument testing begins in 5th grade. Because of our rural location, we are on a ***4 day work week*** and do not have school on Fridays (although the day is available for additional rehearsal when desired).
Ely, Nevada is a high elevation mountain tourist/mining town in Eastern Nevada outside of Great Basin National Park. Ely is the primary community within White Pine County. Our population within city limits is around 4,000, with about 9,000 in our county (which is larger than Connecticut). Our primary economic drivers are Tourism surrounding our scenic beauty, the national park, and our historic Nevada Northern Railway (the “Ely Ghost Train”), our BLM/Forrest Service, and the Robinson Operation Copper Mine.
Ely and White Pine County are destinations for hiking, camping, rock climbing, skydiving, mountain biking, backcountry/wilderness excursions, ATVs, skiiing, snowmobiling, hunting (elk/deer/cougar/duck), fishing, ice-fishing, sight-seeing, historical sights, mural artwork, cowboy poetry, ghost towns, and ghost hunting! We have impeccably clear air and night skies, beca of our elevation and distance from light-pollution, and are a major star-gazing destination. We sit at 6,500ft and have cool, dry summers (usually max out around 80-90 in July) and cold, beautiful winters. It is a small, but diverse community that is very safe, clean, and family-friendly. It’s a calm, very beautiful place to call home.
We are 4 hours from Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, or St. George, UT. We are about 5 hours from Reno/Tahoe/Carson or Twin Falls, ID or Grand Junction, CO. 7 from Boise or Sacramento. About 8 from Los Angeles or San Francisco. We are within 5 hours of Moab, Zion National, Arches National, Redrocks National, Death Valley National, and Canyonlands. Although we are isolated, our 4-day week allows for easy travel and fun weekends. We like to say we are “in the middle of everywhere.”
Starting salary placement is based on years in education and credits. We are highly competitive. In addition to salary, new employees receiving a signing bonus of $4,000 in addition to a generous band stipend. Employee benefits are paid 100% by our district.
If you have questions, or are interested in being part of our team and our community, please reach out to the Director of Bands on our website, www.whitepinebands.com
I have been in contact with the head BD. He is a graduate of WPHS with successful years in some large schools and some Texas roots (instructor at Texas Tech school of music while working on masters). Lots of opportunity in an area of national parks (Death Valley, Zion, Brice Canyon, Yosemite, Grand Canyon), skiing, easy drive to Vegas.