Her Teen Son With Down Syndrome Was Denied The Ability To Play In His High School Marching Band, So This Dedicated Mom Took Action To Change That
Last month, mother Kristie VanZant was forced to turn to Change.org as a last resort in order to make her teenage son Jakobie Richardson’s dream of playing in his school band a reality.
Jakobie was diagnosed with Down syndrome but has always expressed a love for music– particularly percussion instruments.
So, a few years ago, Kristie began pleading with the Klein School District in Texas to allow her son to participate in the school marching band.
“He loved watching [the band] over the years through his older brother playing football for the district. Jakobie studied the band and soaked up the routine like a sponge– spending his days at home practicing the routine and the music,” Kristie recalled.
But, even after she sent videos of Jakobie performing the routine to Klein High School’s ARD department, his participation in the band was denied.
At first, Kristie was told that no students who could not read music were allowed in the program.
“But, the videos showed that through Jakobie observing and mimicking the routine, he could, in fact, be successful in the program,” she said.
In turn, the high school’s band teacher did eventually allow Jakobie’s entry into the program. However, he was only to participate at the most basic level.
Change.org; pictured above is Jakobie
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In fact, he was only allowed to attend the games and observe the other band members playing for his first year. This was a win for Jakobie for a short while. But, as time went on, Jakobie’s mom explained how being a bystander was torturous.
“We cooperated for a short while, but I had to go back and explain to them that just simply being a bystander was torture for my son, who loves to play,” she explained.
“I bought him a harness and a drum of his own so that he could at least perfect the gift that God gave him until I could possibly get the district to allow him to be involved at a higher level– the same as the other children.”
So, through Kristie’s persistence and her son’s dedication to music, the Klein School District did eventually allow Jakobie to participate in the band during his second year. He was given a drum top, stood with the other percussionists in the stands, and was allowed to be a part of the drumline during halftime.
However, Jakobie recently graduated from Klein High School this past year but will still be attending school through a Transitional Program meant to teach life skills and workforce preparedness.
Nonetheless, Kristie’s hopes that her son could continue playing with the band while enrolled in the program were not well received by the school administration.
Apparently, the mom met with the Klein High School principal before graduation since she was told the ARD department could not allow or deny participation while in the Transitional Program.
During the meeting, though, Kristie was asked what Jakobie hoped to accomplish by participating in the band.
“My response was that Jakobie would like to attend College at Texas A&M in their Achieve program and hopefully be able to be one of the first students with Downs to be a part of a college band,” Kristie said.
Even after the principal pledged to investigate this possibility, though, Kristie never heard back from the school. Instead, the school year has already begun, and she has spent the past weeks relentlessly reaching out to the administration.
“I was eventually responded to by the principal and was told that Jakobie could no longer be a part of the band since the transitional program is designed to teach them life skills and get them ready to work,” Kristie explained.
“My response to their decision is this– why is the transitional program for special needs students only targeted to those two areas, and why can’t they have the same transitional opportunities offered to other students that go on to college with scholarships to play in a band or other extracurricular areas besides just educational scholarships?”
But, the Klein School District was not helpful in answering those questions.
So, Kristie was forced to make a plea to the community via a Change.org petition.
She hoped that by publicizing Jakobie’s roadblocks, enough petitioners would support equal treatment and educational opportunities for children with special needs.
And thankfully, over twenty-one thousand petitioners have already pledged their signatures to support Jakobie’s love of music and continuing education.
“As a teacher, I believe ALL students should be able to chase their passions. Everyone can learn when given the necessary support and encouragement,” wrote one signer, Karen Ventura.
“Every kid should be able to join the band. No matter what,” said another signer, Patricia Chambers.
This widespread receptiveness to Jakobie’s story has even been enough to push the Klein School District to rethink its initial decision.
On August 26, Kristie shared an update detailing the development.
“I am happy to let everyone know that I had a meeting with two wonderful ladies at the administration building for Klein today, and we are working towards making this decision right. We are working out some kinks, but, hopefully, he will be at our games soon cheering on our Tigers!” Kristie announced.
“All around, I am thankful they chose to put the best interest of Jakobie first and every other special needs kid and family that come after him!”
To remain updated on Jakobie’s journey to rejoining the band, you can visit the Change.org petition linked here.
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