Just a reminder that Butter Braid pickup is tomorrow, March 25.
Please enter through Door 9 – located on the north end of the school next to the band room in the City Stadium parking lot – between 2:30 – 4:00 PM.
Once you pick up your order, be sure to freeze it as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support!
Please read this letter from FAI Program Coordinator Lucinda Roberts and consider joining us at the School Board Meeting this Monday evening.
Dear Friends of the Fine Arts Institute,
I hope this letter finds you and your family doing great! There is much to share and I hope you could also share it with others who have benefited and supported the Institute over the years.
I am writing to keep you informed as things are beginning to unfold in regard to the Fine Arts Institute and its future.
It has been my great privilege these past 14 years to serve and build our wonderful Institute, but I announced in September that I would retire at the close of this 25-26 school year. I wanted to provide the district plenty of time to fill my position.
This past Monday night the school board met and it was announced and published in the meeting’s minutes that they are NOT going to be filling my position and are still going to be looking at the possible closing of special programs. The Fine Arts Institute is one of those programs.
As far as I know, the Institute will continue to run for next year (26-27), but I know nothing in regard to the 27-28 school year.
Our terrific parent organization, “Green Bay East Performing Arts Parents, Inc.” has a fabulous website: https://eastfinearts.com. I encourage you to go to it because they are helping to organize speakers and a large attendance to the next school board meeting on Monday, March 23rd at 6pm. (If you would like to speak, use this link to fill out the speakers form-you get 5 minutes. Please try to do it prior to the meeting because there’s a chance that if many sign up, they will say “no” to those applying to speak at the door.)
We NEED you to come to that meeting and help us pack the board room. If you would like to speak at the meeting, talk about why you are sending your student to East and how the Institute is a part of that choice, that would be extremely helpful.
The parent’s website has a powerpoint presentation that we went over at an emergency meeting last Monday evening. This presentation has some good data in it as well. They are looking specifically at ROI for the validating of the Fine Arts Institute.
Please consider attending this critical meeting and help be a voice for our students and your family! The arts have great meaning and I always remind people of where they went during covid…it was to the arts as nothing else was happening. Netflix, books, CD’s, Bluerays…we all dug deeper into streaming!
The Fine Arts Institute is one of those incredible pieces that even for students that aren’t members, they gain great opportunities and experiences. “When the tide comes in, all ships rise.”
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I’m here to help!
Thank you for considering it all-you are greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Lucinda Roberts
PS- meeting will be held at the District Office Building, 200 S. Broadway, 3rd floor.
We’re looking for one more volunteer to help with Butter Braid order form and money collection at East High School this Friday, March 13.
We need someone to assist Julie Miller with money collection from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If you are available to help during that time window, please contact us at eastfinearts@gmail.com. Your help would make the collection process run much more smoothly.
Thank you for supporting our students and our fundraising efforts!
Make plans to check out our silent auctions during both nights of Rhapsody Revue at Green Bay East High School coming up March 20-21.
The silent auction will be open:
Each night’s winners will be announced before the 9:00 p.m. closing act.
Auction items will include artwork, quilts, jewelry, apparel, a fishing lure basket, a self-care basket, a crafting basket, and much more. All proceeds will go to support Fine Arts programs at Green Bay East High School.
Show tickets can be purchased here
Here are a few links and discussion points relating to Monday’s Fine Arts Institute Meeting. Click here if you missed the meeting and would like to see what it was about. Click here for a copy of the notes taken at the meeting.
Fine Arts Institute Director Lucinda Roberts presented information including important information and statistics about the Institute. You can view the slides here.
Dance Director Esrom Williams announced that State Superintendent Jill Underly declared March “Music, Art, Dance, and Theatre in Our Schools Month”. You can view a copy of that declaration here.
Choir/Musical Director Lindsay Tippins presented State DPI statistics related to East High School’s participation in arts-related courses compared to other schools in the state. You can view that document here.
Former East High teacher Brian Fisk spoke about the lack of funding being a statewide issue. Click here to view a map and/or enter your address to see the names of your state legislators, then email them and let them know how you feel.
GBAPS Superintendent finalists Michael Hernandez and Michael Trimberger will be available to answer questions at “meet the candidates” events this week. Michael Hernandez will be available at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, March 4, and Michael Triberger at the same time on Thursday, March 5, at West High School – 966 Shawano Avenue in Green Bay. Learn more about our new superintendent and voice your concerns there.
A QR code was shown at the meeting that directed attendees to a short questionnaire. The information gathered with this will be used to help stress the importance of the FAI to the Board. If you haven’t filled it out, please click here and take a few minutes to do so.
District leadership has indicated that the most helpful action right now is for families to communicate the positives—what FAI and the arts pathway mean to students and how it has helped them.
If you’re willing, send a short message with:
Vicki Bayer (GBAPS Superintendent) – vlbayer@gbaps.org
David Johns (GBAPS Associate Superintendent) – dmjohns@gbaps.org
James Lyerly (School Board President) – jglyerly1@gbaps.org
Lynn Gerlach (School Board Vice President) – lmgerlach@gbaps.org
Andrew Becker (School Board Treasurer) – ambecker@gbaps.org
Jeanette Knill (School District Clerk) – jmknill@gbaps.org
Laura McCoy (School Board Trustee) – llmccoy@gbaps.org
Alex Mineau (School Board Trustee) – aomineau1@gbaps.org
Samantha Meister (School Board Trustee) – smmeister1@gbaps.org
Please consider attending upcoming GBAPS Board meetings:
If attending a board meeting, please wear red and/or an East High School article of clothing to show solidarity. In order to speak at board meetings you must apply. Click here to fill out the application to speak at the next School Board Meeting.
Our next meeting is schedule for Monday, March 16 at 6:30 PM in the Band Room. Until then, we’ll continue to post updates on the website and social media.
GBAPS is navigating serious budget uncertainty, and many families have asked what this could mean for fine arts—especially the Fine Arts Institute (FAI) and its pathway schools. Here’s what we know as of Monday, March 2, based on district documents and recent communication with district leadership.
In a GBAPS “Budget Saving Items for Discussion Purposes Only” document, the district lists:
“Evaluate specialty programs for ROI (ex: IB, Fine Arts, AVID, etc.)” with estimated savings “ranging from $500,000 to over $1,000,000,” and notes the goal to “Complete ROI for all specialty programs; impact on 27–28 budget.” GBAPS Budget document
District leadership has clarified that the “Fine Arts” reference in the ROI/program review discussion is focused on the Fine Arts Institute/pathway model (FAI and pipeline schools)—not eliminating all arts programming district-wide.
A 2023 external report included a recommendation to “Strengthen the Arts Pathway,” with specific emphasis on Webster and East, and to make Washington truly an arts magnet (including recruiting students from outside the district). This matters because it shows that strengthening the arts pathway has been identified as a positive district strategy in recent years.
District leadership has indicated that the most helpful action right now is for families to communicate the positives—what FAI and the arts pathway mean to students and how it has helped them.
If you’re willing, send a short message with:
Vicki Bayer (GBAPS Superintendent) – vlbayer@gbaps.org
David Johns (GBAPS Associate Superintendent) – dmjohns@gbaps.org
James Lyerly (School Board President) – jglyerly1@gbaps.org
Lynn Gerlach (School Board Vice President) – lmgerlach@gbaps.org
Andrew Becker (School Board Treasurer) – ambecker@gbaps.org
Jeanette Knill (School District Clerk) – jmknill@gbaps.org
Laura McCoy (School Board Trustee) – llmccoy@gbaps.org
Alex Mineau (School Board Trustee) – aomineau1@gbaps.org
Samantha Meister (School Board Trustee) – smmeister1@gbaps.org
Please consider attending upcoming GBAPS Board meetings:
In order to speak at the meeting you must apply. Click here to fill out the application to speak at the next School Board Meeting.
We are asking GBAPS to publicly share:
The Green Bay Area Public School District has indicated it is evaluating “specialty programs” for return on investment as part of upcoming budget decisions — and that list includes Fine Arts.
Because this could have a major impact on arts opportunities for our students, the Green Bay East Performing Arts Parents are calling an emergency community meeting to share what we know, discuss what this could mean for East, and coordinate next steps.
When: Monday, March 2 at 6:30 PM
Where: Green Bay East High School Auditorium
We encourage all who value fine arts in our schools to attend. This is the time to show up and help protect opportunities for our kids.
Please spread the word and invite others who care about fine arts at East. We hope to see you on March 2.
The Green Bay East Performing Arts Parents will be busy again this year helping out at the Festival Foods Brat Stand at the Green Bay East Festival Foods (Steffens Ct.) — a fun (and tasty) way to support our students!
Rhapsody Show Choir
Green Bay East Performing Arts Parents
We’ll need lots of helping hands to keep things running smoothly. A SignUpGenius will be shared soon — but for now, save the date. Thanks for supporting Green Bay East performing arts!
The East Performing Arts Parents have teamed up with the Green Bay Rockers for another fun night at the ballpark. This Friday, July 17, $15 will get you a ticket to the Rockers game and a Rockers hat, and $7 of that will be donated back to the East High Performing Arts Parents. It’s a fun way to spend a Friday night, and you’ll be helping our performing arts students. See the flyer below for all of the information you need. We hope to see you there!
2026 Solo & Ensemble is coming up for our music students. This year’s event will be spread over three days at Preble High School. We’re just starting to get the performance schedules. We will add the others to this page as they become available. Students should arrive 45 minutes before their scheduled performances.
Volunteers Still Needed!
Multiple schools participate in this event and it can’t happen without volunteers from each school. Preble is looking for parents who are willing and able to monitor performance rooms both inside and outside, help with setup and cleanup, work concessions, and float or fill in doing any or all of the above. If you volunteer you WILL be able to watch your kid perform. Floaters will fill in for you during that time.
Preble’s Music Parents have made things very easy for us. They’ve created a flyer with links to everything you need to know about the different tasks and how to sign up. Check it out below and please sign up if you’re available. Thanks, and we’ll see you there!