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SMBC by % economically disadvantaged

Posted by Tim @BrynnPark on 11/16/2025, 9:43 am
Board Administrator

Hey all,
Every year someone comes out with a spreadsheet with the Open Class SMBC participants and their % of kids that economically disadvantaged (aka on free or reduced lunch). I went ahead and made a graph of this, which you can see HERE.

If you think something is off, please email at tim@brynnpark.com. Otherwise, FLAME ON!

Tim

Re: SMBC by % economically disadvantaged

Posted by Son of John on 11/17/2025, 11:10 am, in reply to "SMBC by % economically disadvantaged"

Another data point that would be interesting to see is school enrollment. Especially the most recent snapshot numbers. How many Div 1 vs Div 2 schools represented. If you look at 5A alone, at least 4 of the finalists submitted above 2274 which was the 6A cutoff in 2023.

Re: SMBC by % economically disadvantaged

Posted by Reading Numbers on 11/17/2025, 10:58 am, in reply to "SMBC by % economically disadvantaged"

Remember this is the EcoDis for the school, not necessarily the band program. The larger programs tend to have less EcoDis in their programs compared to their school. Smaller schools are probably more accurate since they have a smaller pool of students.

Re: SMBC by % economically disadvantaged

Posted by Charlie on 11/16/2025, 8:07 pm, in reply to "SMBC by % economically disadvantaged"

Just looking at 6A because that's the level I'm familiar with.
If you look at the graph, the schools with a higher percentage tend to finish lower in the rankings.
How do schools like North Shore and Hanna consistently get their schools to the state level?
I think their accomplishments are a little more impressive because of the adversity they face.
I've talked to many directors in Deep South Texas. For many of them - no techs, part time guard instructor, no private lessons, and little to no band fees. Those teaching staffs are working miracles.

Re: SMBC by % economically disadvantaged

Posted by Well on 11/17/2025, 8:19 am, in reply to "Re: SMBC by % economically disadvantaged"

As someone who used to work in that region:
WE were the private lesson staff. I taught the lessons and sectionals for every band including the middle school. I helped students get into ms region bands and HS all state bands. Those students worked hard because that expectation was set from the beginning from the staff that they would eventually be under at the HS.
And students never complained about what we were doing or why. Sure, there problem kids, or some who didnt pull their weight, but they didnt get in the way of everyone elses learning.
I miss having students like that. There is definitely more to it than that, and some of the schools on the far west/east are able to get some private instruction from universities, but the staff is all on the same page at most of those schools. I miss that too.

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