Everyone has abilities they can use.”Ty Parker, Good Hope High School band director
GOOD HOPE – Ty Parker, band director at Good Hope High School, wants Cullman County Schools to involve the Cullman County Child Development Center more, so he is taking the first step to make that happen.
On Saturday, April 16, the bands from GHHS and the CDC will join together to perform a Disney-themed spring show. The performances will be at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Wallace State Community College in the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre. Tickets for the event are $10 and include popcorn and a drink, along with admittance to the show. The profits for the event will be split between the two schools after an initial 10 percent is taken from the total and donated to the orphan network of Cullman County.
“I have a soft spot for special-needs children,” Parker said. “I wanted to combine my Good Hope band with the children at the CDC. My principal here at Good Hope (Dr. Anita Kilpatrick) and I began brainstorming as to how to make that happen.”
Parker said he noticed how much the CDC students lacked involvement when he was planning the spring concert for Good Hope.
“Since then we have been finding common ground to perform together,” he said.
Parker has been teaching two days a week at the CDC, along with his full-time job with Good Hope. On Monday he saw the two bands come together and play for the first time.
“I was nervous about how it would work,” he said. “But everything worked really, really well.”
Along with the partnership between the two groups of students musically, Parker said he wanted the students to get even more out of the experience.
“I want the CDC students to gain confidence out of this partnership,” he said. “And I want this to be a humbling experience for my Good Hope kids.”
The two groups of musicians have formed a big-brother/big-sister type program.
“The CDC students have all found certain students from my Good Hope band and I want those students to mentor and involve the CDC students,” Parker said.
Parker believes that the students at the CDC have talents and abilities that they should be given an opportunity to show.
“Everyone has abilities they can use,” he said. “The most important thing about this event is that we are showcasing the students from the Child Development Center.”
To learn more about the Cullman County Child Development Center, visit http://cdc.ccboe.org/.
