BALTIMORE — A five-minute video produced by the Maryland State Department of Education featuring Crisfield High School’s band program is now online at the MSDE TV YouTube channel.

Filming for the “Arts in Our Schools” segment was in February and in addition to the entire band features Abi Wise and Eddie Johnson, both seniors, and junior Katrina Diaz, along with Band Director Heather McHenry and Supervisor of Special Programs Dr. Will Gray.

“We’re so fortunate for the support we receive in Somerset County,” Mrs. McHenry says at the close of the film. “If that support is any indicator, the future of Maryland schools is bright.”

It was a visit in December to see students actively engaged in band class that so impressed a member of the Maryland State Department of Education that plans for the documentary film were launched.

Director of Comprehensive Arts Education Lizzie Devereux, since taking the position last year with MSDE, made it her mission to tour fine arts classrooms throughout Maryland's 24 school districts. And Dr. Will Gray, a former vice principal, directed her to Crisfield High.

From that experience she came away quite impressed with the band program, where students take active leadership roles to make all band students feel part of the "band family."

Ms. Devereux wrote in an email, "I was inspired by the students' words and struck by how much of what the students shared, spoke to the overall strength of school arts programs to improve student confidence, leadership, teamwork, academic achievement, and a sense of belonging and community."

To memorialize her visit Ms. Devereux decided to highlight the school's band class as an example of the compelling arts programs happening across Maryland public schools.

Ms. Devereux especially wanted the voices of the students themselves shared as to why arts are so important for achieving the bold intentions of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. Filming took place on Feb. 28.

The documentary will be used to emphasize the program's role in building community pride and cohesion. It is a model of a strong program "as shared by the students themselves,"

"The supervisors and production team said this is unlike any school they have been to before and they could easily sense the feeling of family and community among the students and staff throughout the day," Mrs. McHenry said.

School Principal David Arnold said, "to be recognized at the state level is a great honor for our band, our school, and our county. This is an exciting time for CHS and we should take pride in the accomplishments of the band program."

Public performances by the band start each year on Labor Day weekend with the marching band in the National Hard Crab Derby parade, followed by Halloween and Christmas parades. There are also winter and spring concerts, and the Pep Band recently wrapped up its schedule playing during home basketball games.

The video can be viewed here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojEZ9btaOGM.

— Vickie Nelson, the journalism, photography and public speaking teacher at Crisfield High School, contributed to this story.