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A new music hub for students will bring new life to the former Dieppe School in Regina, starting next school year.
It is part of a revamp to the Regina Public Schools’ current elementary band program, which will require all Grade 6 students to take part in band as part of the Provincial Arts Education curriculum, starting in September.
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“It is about getting an instrument in every student’s hands so they all can be equal and try it out, and all be excited at the same moment in time with their classmates,” said Regina Public School Board Trustee Adam Hicks. “Nobody’s being excluded. It is a win-win-win across our system; we’re pretty darn excited.”
Regina Public School Board Trustee Adam Hicks says he’s pretty excited about the new band program. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
Regina Public School Division CEO Mark Haarmann said once a student goes into Grades 7 and 8, they will get to choose whether they want to continue with band.
“Those that choose to (continue with band) will then hopefully make a very educated choice around their own passion, own pursuit of excellence, and come here (the Music Centre at Dieppe School) for Grade 7 and Grade 8, and hopefully move on to what will be even stronger secondary programs in band.”
Regina Public Schools Director of Education/CEO Mark Haarmann says all Grade 6 students will take part in band starting September 2026. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
The school division will be using the former Dieppe School as a “dedicated specialized music centre” for Grades 6 through 8, starting in September.
Haarmann said Grade 6 students will get band class in both their home school, with a handful of classes at the new music centre. Grade 7 and 8 students will be bused to the Music Centre at Dieppe for a class once a week, for half a day.
The school division said it will be refreshing parts of the former Dieppe School, including the washrooms, classrooms and performance spaces so it is ready for music classes starting September 2026. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
“(The new music centre is) a place where all the music teachers are centered. The instruments are kept here. There will be cleaning equipment, etc. Instead of what I think is, right now, a little bit of a willy nilly arrangement.”
The school division said currently, elementary band classes are often held in boot rooms, gyms, hallways – and even kitchens because there isn’t enough space.
Currently, 1,700 kids are in the elementary band program, with Haarmann adding that only 41 per cent of Grade 6 students participate in band as the program is now, dropping to only 17 per cent by Grade 8.
Part of the issue, as Haarmann explained, is that students are taken out of core subjects like math, language arts and science for band class.
“The current model is very disruptive and that’s one of the main reasons kids move on. I hear time and again, and we heard from our data that kids felt like missing a math lesson or missing a language lesson just became too much to catch up,” said Haarmann.
“It’s too hard for our teachers. Our teachers are dealing with all manner of complexity; to expect them to catch kids up who missed a class, or six kids who missed a lesson because of band, you can see how that disrupts programming.”
Grade 6 students will no longer have to pay a band fee starting September 2026. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
Haarmann said the goal with the changes to the elementary band program is to ensure there is equity and opportunity for every student in the public school division.
“The current model is, quite frankly, elitist. It picks and chooses certain neighbourhoods, certain schools, certain kids who get to try it, and many that don’t. We’re a public education system. We’re here (to provide) opportunities for everyone.”
The elementary band program is budgeted to cost $1.4 million for the 2026/27 school year and going forward.
“We believe that by locating it (band classes) in one place, there’ll be efficiencies. So we’re going to spend the same amount of money, but we hope to get more bang for the buck out of it.”
Haarman said over the next three years, they will be keeping a close eye on how many students continue to stick with band through Grade 7 and 8, and into high school, as well as look at student and parent satisfaction with the revamped band program.
The school division said part of the former Dieppe School is currently used as a sports training facility for the Martin Academy (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
Back in June last year, Regina Public Schools moved forward with cuts to the band program to deal will a nearly $2.7 million deficit. It came with a lot of pushback and concerns from parents and band associations in the province.
