Dynamic Duo Harmonizes to Provide Home for Nettleton Choir Students

JONESBORO, Ark. — Meeting these co-choir directors for the Nettleton School District provides a glimpse of the excellent skills that their students will have after graduation.

Oscar Quiroz, with five years under his belt with the district, and his co-director, Laura Watkins, who has been with the district for two years, create a perfect harmony to inspire their students.

Both graduates of Arkansas State, the duo has embarked upon a mission to create a home for the students who walk through the doors of their classroom.

“When I started working here, that was the culture we really wanted to build. Work hard because you can get paid to do this. You can get paid to sing. There are opportunities for you. You just need to work hard at it,” Quiroz recalled.

Quiroz embarked upon his new job at Nettleton just as COVID took hold of the nation. That meant a lot of restructuring within the Nettleton choir program.

The Nettleton School District is doing things a bit differently. As Quiroz and Watkins explained, most school districts have a junior high school choir director and a senior high school choir director, but that’s where Nettleton is changing the tune.

Both Quiroz and Watkins instruct students in grades 7-12, meaning they tackle the junior and senior high school choir programs, but they do it together.

“If we are both truly used to our fullest potential, it makes sense for me to work with certain groups and for Oscar to lead other groups that are similar to our voice types,” Watkins explained.

By combining their talents, the co-choir directors enhance the musical education of almost 100 students, and the change seems to be enhancing the choir program, as well.

According to Watkins, this school year alone, the junior high school choir has seen a 15% increase in students, while the high school has seen a whopping 36% increase.

“Our goal is to see growth. We want you to grow, as an individual and as a musician,” Watkins described.

 

“They are growing. The program’s growing in numbers. The students are owning the musicianship, and we are growing in opportunities,” she continued.

The latest opportunity the Nettleton School District will offer students is a concurrent Fine Arts Music Appreciation class, which will give students the chance to earn college credit. The program is set to begin in January.

The new program is not the only opportunity this award-winning choir program offers the students. They also get the chance to share their talents with audiences across the state and right here in Northeast Arkansas.

In early December, Quiroz and Watkins took the show on the road. The junior high school students were honored to perform at Sounds of the Season at the Arkansas State Capitol Rotunda. They even had the opportunity to take a tour of the treasury and hold $100,000 in cash.

 

Meanwhile, the high school choir students spent a week caroling at Jonesboro businesses and assisted living facilities.

The talent of the students did not go unnoticed. Watkins shared the story of one of the girls in the treble choir who experienced after performing for residents at the South Wind Heights Retirement Community.

“She said somebody came up to me and said that I was such a blessing, and I said, ‘Well, you are,” Watkins recounted. “She said, ‘I don’t think anyone ever told me that before.’”

Watkins and Quiroz describe their relationship with their students as very special, but both acknowledge that it takes more than their encouragement to leave a lasting impression on the students.

“These students need to hear how important they are, and not just from us. We tell them how proud of them we are and we love them, but also just hearing that from people in the community,” Watkins trailed off, describing what a profound impact community support has on the students.

Quiroz explained that in addition to the joy the students get from performing, he aims to provide something of even more value.

“It gives them a home. It gives them a place to look forward to. We are very accepting here in this classroom. No judgment,” he described.

Quiroz and Watkins provide a sounding board for students, sometimes even refereeing disputes between the children.

“Sometimes you catch Miss Laura in the office having to… you know, two kids, they are in an argument. They’re fighting. They’re friends, and she’s had to talk them down,” Quiroz said of Watkins’s ability to neutralize touchy situations.

Watkins explained that’s a very important part of her job.

“The vast majority of it is you are functioning as one,” Watkins began. “It is learning to be in a community with the person standing beside you, who you have nothing in common with, maybe you disagree with on all different levels, but you have to work together to create music.”

Watkins said this lesson is important to more than just their young students. She explained her philosophy that she feels would have many people singing a different tune.

“As a society as a whole, if we could learn to be better in community with those we disagree with, we would only be better off as a society,” Watkins said.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When the graduation caps are tossed, Watkins wants her students to walk away having learned a very important lesson.

“I often tell these students, ‘You can say anything in a kind way.’ And we practice that,” said Watkins.

The lessons Watkins and Quiroz are teaching their students seem to have hit the right note.

Quiroz beamed with pride as he concluded, “Them coming home to this classroom, seeing the delight in their faces when they go and make the top scores… that’s what it’s all about.”