I'm quite aware of how my experience was atypical.

I'm also aware - because I was there to see it - how the system could help music teachers. I saw how Mrs. Cooper would go to a competition, come back, and deliberately try out things that had been suggested for other groups. Would come back and ask us for feedback on what we thought of suggestions which had been given in the workshops that we got. I saw the difference that this made.

Of course teachers varied in how much they learned. Obviously I saw a best case scenario. But I also saw a lot of other teachers who were clearly taking advantage of the program, and were also improving rapidly. Many were people who, like my teacher, had been music teachers for a long time before but hadn't really improved that much.

Cheers,
Ben

PS At my school there were no auditions to get into choir or band. There were auditions to get into the smaller ensembles, like jazz choir, but those were in place because the ensemble had a maximum workable size. Interest was generally low enough that the problem was getting enough people into the group, not turning extra people away. (If getting in was competitive, I would have certainly been turned away!)