Rockestra Program's Popularity Earns Polk County Teacher Award

LAKELAND, FLA. — A Polk County high school music teacher has been recognized for an innovative orchestra program that widens the scope of the music the school’s stringed ensemble performs and that has become a hit with students.

George Jenkins High School teacher Shelby Montgomery was recently awarded the 2022 Exemplary Model Program Award, which is handed out each year by the Florida Music Education Association, Polk County Schools announced last week.

Montgomery was honored for her efforts in creating the school’s Rockestra program, which was introduced in 2016. The program pumps more popular music into the repertoire of the high school’s general string music curriculum, district officials said.

The program blends traditional orchestral and rock instruments to perform pop and rock arrangements created by students, the district said in a news release. What results is a unique opportunity for students to participate in a program that is the only one known to exist in Central Florida, Montgomery said.

“In Rockestra, players learn the skills needed to be in a rock band, all while enhancing their orchestral technique,” Montgomery said, in the release.

Officials from the Florida Music Education Association said that Montgomery’s program struck a high note with the judges for the award.

“There was a very high level of applicants and very high level of competition in this particular category, but you, Ms. Montgomery, stood out above the rest,” the association said in recognizing Montgomery.

Beth Cummings, the district’s director of fine arts, said the Rockestra program is quickly becoming a national phenomenon and the credit for the popular Rockestra initiative gaining traction is a credit to Montgomery.

“Truly, her influence is spreading, and we could not be prouder,” Cummings said in the release.