Madison DelCostello, valedictorian of the Class of 2024 at Jordan-Elbridge High School, put together a workshop and presentation for sixth, seventh and eighth grade band students that she presented on April 12 as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award Project.
She is an ambassador in Girl Scout Troop 10104 who has previously earned her Bronze and Silver Awards.
The Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting and can be earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts, with only about 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts earning it.
Girl Scouts earn this award by using everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to help fix a problem in their community or make a lasting change in their world.
They create and carry out a “Take Action Project” aimed at addressing a root cause of the issue they’ve selected.
The project must have a national and/or global link, measurable goals, a sustainability plan, approval from council, and a minimum of 80 hours into the project with a team that the Girl Scout selects.
DelCostello has chosen to address dwindling participation in band, noting that the highest attrition rates are between grades six through eight and the transition to high school.
As an avid musician herself, DelCostello cares deeply about the music program and wants to keep kids excited about band.
Her project, titled “Play On: Inspiring Continuity in Band” addresses root causes of the issue such as negative social stigmas and increasing academic pressure to take a study hall instead of band.
DelCostello and her project advisor, Zachary Moser, who is also the high school band director, gathered a team of the top JEHS band students and two community members who will go to the Jordan-Elbridge Middle School (JEMS) to perform, inform, and inspire about 60 students in grades six through eight to continue with music through high school and throughout life.
They performed as ensembles, small groups, and solos; talked about the many benefits of being and staying in band; showed through testimony that band is a plausible and fun commitment, even with a busy schedule; talked about the multitude of band opportunities; attempted to break the stigma that band is uncool; and answered questions the students had.
DelCostello hopes that through her project, she will get students engaged and help them rediscover a passion for music, so they will “play on.”
