When Cartersville High School chorus teacher Jim Stanley decided this school year would be his last, he asked some former students if they’d be interested in returning for a concert.
What better way to catch up with some of them, he thought.
Last Saturday, more than six dozen former students gathered for a quick rehearsal and sing that evening. Boy, did they sing.
Videos of the performance have gone viral on social media, drawing national interest. One clip had more than 65,000 views on Instagram. Stanley, who is retiring after 30 years of teaching, hopes the attention will spark greater interest — and investment by schools — in music and arts education.
“If there was one message I would want the world to know is music can change students’ lives,” Stanley, 52, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
Stanley taught at Cartersville High for 27 years. His current class sang in a concert for him Monday. The school’s graduation is on May 26. The seniors will sing, led by Stanley.
Stanley initially hoped for about 15 former students to return. Eighty-eight former students appeared.
“Mind-blowing,” he called it.
Stanley said some former students came from Chicago, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Vancouver. The school’s principal, Shelley Tierce, said the large number of alumni who returned is a testament to his impact on students. In addition to being a teacher, she said, Stanley was a counselor to them. He built lasting relationships, she said.
“He allowed them to have fun,” Tierce said. “He helped them love music and to love themselves.”
One former student, Jennifer Williams, will become the new chorus teacher at Cartersville High. As for Stanley, he’ll lead the chorus at First Presbyterian Church in Cartersville and for now, do nothing else.
“I’m definitely taking it one day at a time,” he said.
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