TSMSS All Faculty-Staff Meeting Plenary Session - Third Street ...

ALL FACULTY &
STAFF MEETING
PLENARY SESSION
September 7, 2011
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Third Street Music School Settlement
Anna-Maria Kellen Auditorium
MEETING MINUTES/NOTES
Welcome & Remarks: Lee Koonce, Executive Director
(Complete text of these remarks appears at the end of this document.)
Address: Shalisa Kline Ugaz, Director of Programs
(Complete text of these remarks appears at the end of this document.)
Open Forum / Q & A
• Sybille Johner asked whether the two pianos in Room 3C would stay in the room.
o The piano will be moved before the start of the school year. It was a donated Yamaha in
excellent condition that we need to find a place for in the School.
• Mikah Killion asked if the faculty could get more clarity on the job distribution of the Student Support
Services Department and other administrative functions within the School.
o The registration process and the financial aid process were shifted to the business side.
o A document will be prepared and distributed with descriptions of each departments’ function.
• Jose Pietri-Combre asked for clarity on the financial aid process.
o Lee Koonce noted that this year the financial aid process was moved to an on-line service. This
was done to reduce the amount of paperwork in-house so that the Student Support Services
office could focus on maintaining personal contact with parents. The paperwork was the only
part of the process that was outsourced. All of the decisions are made internally by a
committee.
o Sybille mentioned there is an electronic divide. Two families did not return because of the
computer process. Loyi Malu explained that the Student Support Services is available to help
families complete the form and has helped many families do so.
o More clarity is needed for need-based financial aid versus merit-based scholarships.
o Clearer communication to parents about what is available.
o Lee noted that all Third Street’s students receive scholarships through free access to
ensembles, etc.
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ALL FACULTY &
STAFF MEETING
• Mary Jo Pagano mentioned that the Artist Performance Series concerts now start at 7:00 p.m.
o This change should be more widely communicated.
o Margaret Mills said the 7:30 p.m. start time was changed in hopes of getting more parents and
children to attend.
• Micah Killion asked how the change to Activenet will affect faculty.
o Faculty will be able to access schedules and contact information on line.
o Improved communication.
o It is hoped that attendance will be available on line in the future.
• Jose wanted to know whether the faculty can teach students that aren’t registered yet.
o Lee noted that many families have held of on registering for classes, possibly due to the poor
economy. Schedules will likely fill up over time.
• Sibylle Johner noted that Lee Koonce’s Open Letter, sent via e-mail, said faculty had been approached
by the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). However, she was the person that contacted faculty.
She added that the union effort is coming from the faculty.
o Lee Koonce acknowledged that the faculty members have initiated the organizing process, but
that it is true that persons not employed by Third Street have also been in contact with faculty
members.
o A discussion ensued on the advantages and disadvantages of a union at Third Street.
o Lee Koonce noted that this was good open discussion and would try to figure out the best way
to bring this group together for the next meeting.
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All Faculty / Staff Meeting
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Third Street Music School Settlement
Anna-Maria Kellen Auditorium
5:30 p.m.
Remarks: Lee Koonce
Greetings and welcome to the 117 th school year at Third Street Music School Settlement. I’m delighted to see all of you
here this evening and hope that you’ve had an enjoyable summer. Seeing you here is especially exciting because this old
building just isn’t the same without music, dance and hundreds of kids flowing through the halls. You, the faculty and
your students, are what make Third Street come to life. I’m glad to see you back!
I’d like to make special recognition of the building operation and facility staff who have worked exceptionally hard over
the month of August to get the building in tip-top shape. New paint, renovated classrooms, replaced carpets are just a
few of the projects that took place over the summer. Perhaps the largest was taming the river the school has in the subbasement,
a place that most of us rarely see, but which certainly affects the quality of life above ground. The School is
really sparkling and I’d like to ask you to join me in a round of applause for Edwyn, Joel and Robert and Director of
Operations Patrick Pierre for their amazing work over the summer.
Much of what I normally say in my remarks at the beginning of the year was said in my recent letter to the entire Third
Street community, so I won’t take up our valuable time repeating all of that now except to say that Third Street Music
School remains strong - financially and programmatically - and that all of us have important roles to play in the reestablishment
of our warm and nurturing community.
Additionally, I want to reiterate my commitment to you to:
1. Increase and improve communications from my office. I need to be in touch more often about matters related to
the School's programs and student learning and to more actively seek your input. One way that we will accomplish
this is to expand the information currently on the Web site by creating a forum for questions and feedback to make
the site a communication hub for our entire community. We’re still working on the technical aspects of this, but
even the scripts and notes from tonight’s meeting will be placed on the web.
2. Increase opportunities for face-to-face communications. I want you to share your thoughts and concerns directly
with me and with each other. For example, we will schedule more general Parent Association meetings, more
general faculty meetings and more meetings with our entire community. Notes from these proceedings will be
posted on the Web site for all to read and review.
3. To respond to all of your questions in an appropriate, timely and positive manner.
4. To ensure that the processes for making institutional decisions are better known, open and understood.
Third Street Music School Settlement’s mission, the dedication of the faculty, the commitment of the board and staff,
the devotion and support of parents and the progress and accomplishments of our students drive and inspire me every
day. The 2011-2012 school year promises to be a year filled with exceptional exploration and learning. It also can be a
year of working on exciting new ideas and initiatives and bringing us all closer as a community. Let’s have another great
year together. I know that, together, we can do this.

Koonce Page 2 of 3
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• As is the case every year, there are many faculty and staff transitions. We don’t have time to mention all of them at
this time, but there are a few that I would especially like to bring to your attention:
o
o
o
Communications Manager Christina Limson, who is leaving NYC to return home to her sunny southern
California. Christina brought Third Street’s external communications to new heights. We will miss her warmth,
humor and efficiency and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Thank you, Christina, for your many
contributions to Third Street’s communications efforts.
Monika Linkweiler has been a teacher and manager in the MILES program for many years. Under her guidance
and leadership, early childhood music in the public schools became the largest program in our public school
partnership program, serving over 1,000 students annually. This year, Monika has decided to step down from
her management-level responsibilities and will focus on her first love, teaching early childhood music at Girl’s
Prep and mentoring new teachers. Thank you, Monika, for your years of distinguished service and for the
1,000’s of children’s lives who have been changed because of your love of children and early childhood music
learning.
Also, I’d like to recognize an important promotion. Effective in the spring of last year, Beverly Harper was
promoted to Director of Security. This promotion reflects new responsibilities that Beverly has taken on over
the past year and is recognition of the extremely important role that she plays in the life of Third Street.
Beverly, would you please stand.
o
o
o
o
New Staff
‒ Development Office: Blair Pack
‒ Programs Department: Ivan Antonov, Assistant Director of Programs
‒ Pre-school faculty: Alicia Barillas, Alissa Pinnock, Danielle Rudawitz
‒ School & Community Partnerships:
The following faculty members worked last year, but were not hired by the time of the faculty meeting:
‒ Sean Berry
‒ Terrance Boyer
‒ Amanda Gookin
‒ Colleen Itzen
‒ Jessie Montgomery
‒ Edmundo Ramirez
‒ Madelyn Rubinstein
‒ Brandon Tesh
‒ Julissa Vale
These faculty members were hired over the summer:
‒ Lisa Desimone
‒ Jess Goldberg
Main School
‒ Eleanor Norton, cello
‒ Marissa Kuney, violin

Koonce Page 3 of 3
‒ William DeVan, piano
‒ Malcolm Merriweather, chorus
Thank you to all new faculty and staff and welcome to Third Street Music School Settlement.
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• A few important announcements:
o
Third Street’s biggest annual fundraising event is the Anniversary Luncheon, held in the fall every year. We are
very excited about this year’s Anniversary Luncheon which will take place on Thursday, October 20 th at noon at
the Metropolitan Club. This year, we’ll be honoring violinist Pamela Frank, conductor and Third Street alumnus
Jonathan Sternberg and trumpet player and alumnus David Guy, who also happens to be the son of long-time
and much beloved preschool faculty member Cathy Guy.
Each year, the Department Chairs and Program Directors are invited to attend the Luncheon. To give as many
faculty as possible the opportunity to attend an Anniversary Luncheon, we will for the second year, hold a
lottery for up to five faculty members to attend the Luncheon. This is a great way to meet many of the School’s
board members, donors, supporters and friends. It’s also a great way to see Third Street student’s shine. I hope
that many of you will submit your names for the Anniversary Luncheon lottery when the invitation is sent out in
a couple of weeks.
o
And, please remember this Saturday 9/11 Commemoration Recital here in our Anna-Maria Kellen Auditorium.
Third Street joins hundreds of organizations around the city who will commemorate the 10 th anniversary of
attacks on September 11, 2011. The concert will feature our own distinguished faculty and will take place from
1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
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Introduction of Shalisa Kline Ugaz
Shalisa Kline Ugaz joined Third Street Music School Settlement last September at the start of the School year.
Shalisa is a violinist by training, having earned her bachelor’s of music from the University of Wisconsin at
Madison. Soon after graduation, Shalisa moved to Chicago and began Allegre Strings, a strings programs based
predominantly in low-income neighborhoods (Pilsen and Little Village) on Chicago’s south west side of. Both
communities are predominantly of Mexican and Central American descent. Shalisa used familiar folks tune from
these communities, juxtaposed with Suzuki, to grow this program from 25 to 600 students in just a few years.
Impressed by the high quality of these students playing, 10 years ago the Merit Music School invited Allegre
Strings and Shalisa to become a part of that vibrant community.
Shalisa has some very important remarks this evening, so I’ll turn over the microphone to her now. Please join me
in welcoming Shalisa Kline Ugaz to the podium.

All Faculty / Staff Meeting
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Third Street Music School Settlement
Anna-Maria Kellen Auditorium
5:30 p.m.
Shalisa Kline Ugaz
Hi Everyone! I hope that all of you have had really wonderful summer as many of you have been at different camps,
festivals and workshops – some of them here at Third Street - sharing your talents with students of the music and dance
communities of New York and beyond. I look forward to hearing all about your experiences and adventures from this
past summer!
The first thing I would like to do today is answer the question many of you have asked – has your family moved to New
York yet The answer is a resounding YES! My two children, Lucas and Clara, my husband Luis, and dog Barsa have
settled in well. We are all very happy to be here in New York together and I look forward to them getting to know you
as you will see them in the halls and classrooms (not the dog) at Third Street this school year as cello, percussion, tap
and ballet students!
As I have stepped into the role of Director of Programs, I found that there are enormous shoes to fill. Putting last year in
some perspective, it is fair to say that there were many successes in the program department. But, there were many
mistakes as well. As Director of Programs, the primary responsibility for those mistakes is mine. This morning I want to
talk about the important lessons I learned from them and what I am doing to help serve you better.
The first lesson is about change. I promise a more incremental approach to change. As an institution, we need to strive
to find ways to serve our students better, looking at the ways we do things, and figuring out how we can do those things
better. However, this year, we will be looking to slow down, to take a closer look at what we are doing and seeking
much more of your guidance before we implement process, program change and enhancements.
Which brings me my next point - this will be a year of more inclusion of all faculty. That means, I will be providing more
opportunities both through open forums for you, the faculty, to address “hot topics” or “not so hot topics” on issues
that will affect the school and your students. I will be asking many more of you for one-on-one meetings to get your
perspective on how you think things are going for you, your students and for the school as a whole.
Another priority -this year you will experience much improved and more frequent communications from the program
office. This past year, I spent a lot of time trying to figure things out, like how the school operates – what is the “Holiday
Music Hour” Who qualifies to audition for the Annual Auditions How do we assign rooms for classes As a result
Communications to you and with you were slower, less frequent and timely.
One crucial step we have taken to address everyone’s concerns about better communications is to hire our new
Assistant Director of Programs, Ivan Antonov. Ivan comes to us with many years of experience managing the Acadiana
Symphony and Conservatory in Louisiana and whose primary role at Third Street will be the day to day operations of the
main school. Ivan will be working with me and the Department Chairs to ensure you are receiving timely, complete
information, on the programs that affect you and your students. You will be receiving reminders of upcoming deadlines,
concerts and opportunities for you and your students. The parents of Third Street students have also expressed
concerns about how we connect with them and how we communicate with them. Ivan will be working with all of us to

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find ways to more effectively communicate about all items Third Street. In addition, Roshni Murali (who you may know
from the pre-school last year) will be serving on as a half time assistant in the program office and will also be working
with the Student Support Services office. Please help me to welcome both of them to the Third Street community.
Third Street is certainly a very special place. In fact, many people have asked me and also shared with me the answer to
the question, “What makes Third Street special”
First let me say, Third Street has many intricacies that take time to understand – the history, the people, the
neighborhood, the history, the day to day life here at the main school and the many, many schools and community
centers we serve in the city of New York. You are all well ahead of me in this journey. I need your help and input to
understand our community better so that we can serve the community better.
Let me share a couple of the reasons that are important to me personally and professionally on “Why Third Street is
special” Third Street provides the opportunity for thousands of students, regardless of each family’s financial situation
or cultural background, the opportunity to study music and dance at Third Street. Third Street, to me, includes all Third
Street students – the students who study here at the main school and all of the students who go to a classroom at an
off-site location to share in the joy of discovering music and dance with a member of the Third Street faculty.
I would like to congratulate all of you on the many outstanding accomplishments of this past year – outstanding
performances on the Artist Performance Series, for traveling sometimes long distances to bring a smile and a clarinet to
a child in our MILES program, for your day to day dedication to our students and for the numerous outstanding
performances throughout the year. I look forward to seeing even more of you in your classes where I can witness firsthand
your great teaching.
The greatest ingredient that contributes to the reason I think Third Street is each one of you. Your commitment to
teaching, your commitment to excellence and your commitment to each other. I have both witnessed and been told of
your commitment from the parents, the students and the staff at Third Street. Commitment is at the heart of Third
Street’s success.
As I have been getting to know many of you - the staff, faculty and students here at Third Street over this past year, you
have told many personal stories about the successes, the challenges and the joyful moments you have witnessed and
experienced. These stories are at the core of the Third Street legacy. I hope that many more of you will be willing to
share your stories of Third Street – whether it is about that pre-school child that heard a trombone for the first time,
the student who took an entire year just to get them to stand/sit still enough to play something (or not!), the student
who wrote their first composition, the endless hours you have given to prepare students for conservatory auditions, the
student who joined the rock band circuit and has their own music video, or the student who auditioned for their first
dance company.
Or maybe your story is something more personal – you have discovered a new way to teach scales, you are working on a
piece that is both exciting and driving you crazy, or you want to share a story about your child or grandchild. Please stop
by my office, nab me in the halls or simply call me just to share those stories as well.
In fact, let me share with you my own story about how I started on my pathway in music. When I was very young, I lived
in a primarily low income, Polish neighborhood on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my parents and my

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brother in the basement of my grandmother’s house – not intended as a residence. My father had been away for some
time training as a paratrooper for the conflict in Vietnam. He had recently come back to rejoin my family and to pursue
a college education.
When I was three years old, my grandmother took me to my first concert – a performance given by the Milwaukee
Symphony. I remember sitting in the front row (my grandmother said they were the best seats) and looking straight up
into the first violin section. As soon as the orchestra began its performance, I was immediately overwhelmed by the
new sounds I was hearing. I was especially drawn to the violins and remember the bows, all moving together, and how
beautiful it looked. I can see it again right now as I tell you this story. I know I was only three, but I still remember parts
of that evening very clearly. I left that performance knowing what I wanted to do.
I asked my parents if I could start playing the violin. At the time we were just too poor. My parents did promise me
that as soon as my father graduated from college, they would sign me up for lessons.
I think my parents thought that it was just another one of the many things I was interested in and that I would forget or
lose interest over time. Well, four more years go by. I am 7.5 years old when I was attending my father’s graduation at
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – the entire family was in attendance. My father was the first person from either
side of the family to graduate from college. My Uncle had a very large video recorder and was taping the ceremony. He
came to me with the camera and a microphone for an interview. He asked, “What do think about your father
graduating from college” My response, “Can I play violin now” It is one my family’s stories to this day.
I know that each one of you have your own story and I look forward to hearing them.
In one way or another I have been involved in a community music school my entire life. Like many of you, I have chosen
to spend my life working in community music education – it is my passion, it is my life. I am committed to bring to the
table, to everyone at Third Street, all of my experience and passion to support the work of the Third Street Music School
Settlement community.
This year, we worked to enhance many of the current programs and communications. You may have had the chance to
page through our new catalog. If not, I hope that you take a look at it – our goal was to provide this tool to list our
classes, and as a resource book to explain the wonderful programs here at Third Street. We have outlined the Pathway
to Excellence – a chart for each student to see what classes are available to them and at what point in their learning
process, are certain classes appropriate. We have increased the amount of music theory classes and lowered the cost.
We have increased the amount of tuition-free honor’s ensembles including the expansion of our dance department
creating the first “Third Street Dance Ensemble”. More students have received scholarships from the Annual Auditions
than ever before. We have moved our “MILES at 3 rd ” day to June instead of Columbus Day in October, allowing all of our
students to begin their classes at the beginning of the school year instead of weeks into the program – creating a better
learning environment for our students and teaching environment for our faculty.
This year, we have implemented a music curriculum into every area of the pre-school which is being developed by a
committee consisting of pre-school faculty, programs department and Music and Movement faculty from our MILES
program. Students will be attending weekly introduction to keyboard classes, monthly concerts by Third Street faculty,
experiencing instrument themes every month which will be reinforced through literature, art and listening exercises.
We have been holding meetings with pre-school parents to talk to them about their music and dance options at Third

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Street – how they can continue to be a part of the Third Street community long after they leave the pre-school so their
children can be lifelong learners – benefitting from the excellent instruction you will provide in music and dance.
This year, beginner group instruction – which was formerly provided to “MILES at Third Street” students only, is now an
opportunity that is open to any student who wants to study at Third Street – providing one more access point for all
students wanting to study music and dance.
As a faculty and staff, everyone plays an integral role in ensuring we are living up to our mission of ACCESS and
EXCELLENCE. Our success depends on both. We need access with excellence and excellence with access.
Each of you is a part of Third Street’s success, future and legacy. I pledge my unconditional commitment, energy and an
open mind to having another great year. Together, relying on each other, it’s going to be a great year.
Thank you.