Morning all,

First time HS director with a SNV band, have taught MS for a while. I know that the rubric changed recently and I'm hearing from other NV/SNV high school directors in my region that what used to sound good enough for "straight ones" is no longer the case. Have heard it is now more common to receive 2s mixed in with 1s. I know the group I took this year got overall 1's on stage/SR with some single 2's mixed in. I thought they played great and I expected the kids to be content but I heard grumblings from some (and parents) about it not being straight ones like in the past.

I'm hearing that it is somewhat of a trend where HS non-varsities that used to play grade 4s and 3s are now playing more grade 3s and 2s to counter the stricter standards.

Just wanting to see if this is actually a trend throughout the state or just an exaggeration ...

I personally like the strict standards (and detailed feedback on judge sheets) and enjoy the challenge of finding music that will simultaneously challenege the director/kids but is not beyond their capabilities (easier said than done!), but the pressure from a community that is used to straight ones is definitely eating at me



Thanks for reading and any honest opinions