Meet a Middle Division Teacher

In this video, Ron Dillard, Orchestra Director, talks about what it is like teaching both Middle Division and Upper Division students music at Berkeley Preparatory School. Dillard has worked at Berkeley since 2015. 

He gushes about Berkeley’s state-of-the-art facilities: “Sometimes, I’m walking around campus from one building to the other, and I catch myself smiling, because, of course it’s Florida, so the sun is shining and the palm trees are blowing in the wind, but it’s just such a beautiful campus.” His classroom is located in the Gries Center for the Arts and Sciences, which opened during his first year at Berkeley, and is a particular favorite: “We’ve grown together. It’s an amazing building. Every time someone comes here for a tour, they’re amazed by my room. I’ve never had facilities such as this to work in and teach in, and it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Dillard’s favorite part of teaching at Berkeley is the interaction with the students. “They are some of the nicest kids I’ve ever taught in my career. The first day of teaching, after class, one of my students said, ‘thank you’ and I said, ‘for what?’ and she said, ‘for teaching me.’” And that was the first time I’ve ever had that happen. It was amazing. It blew my mind. And it’s been like that ever since.”

Orchestra is one of four music elective classes that students at Berkeley can choose to take starting in sixth grade in Middle Division. (The other three music elective classes are band, choir, and bagpipes.) All Middle and Upper Division music ensembles perform in regular concerts on campus throughout the school year, as well as at convocations and pep rallies, and advanced students may audition for special musical recognition, such as All-State.

Learn more about Berkeley’s music program and Middle Division Academics.