From the President-Elect... Keeping Students at the Center: Teacher as Advocate


Sara Womack, AMEA President-Elect


During Music Education Week in Washington, D.C., representatives from AMEA, including myself, were trained in advocacy techniques when speaking to elected officials. We were educated on talking points and even endured a few modeling exercises that were very helpful when meeting representatives from the offices of Senator Jeff Sessions, Senator Richard Shelby, Congressman Spencer Bachus, and Congressman Parker Griffith. We actually spoke with Congressman Bobby Bright, who was very receptive to our ideas. But during the training, it was also reiterated that advocacy efforts begin in the classroom by music teachers reminding students, teachers, parents, and administrators of the benefits of music education at all levels. Teachers can do simple things every day as an advocate for their programs, which in turn, will impact the state of music education in Alabama. • Celebrate student learning in music by publicizing student accomplishments and group endeavors


future school music program. • Obtain a proclamation from your mayor or city council leaders declaring the month of March as “Music In Our Schools Month.” • Encourage parents and booster organizations to become advocates for your program. For information on building a music education coalition, they can visit www.supportmusic.com. • Invite school board members and central office administrators to your music


program concerts and


performances. Arrange for your school music program to perform at school board meetings regularly and follow up with comments from students about the benefits of music education. Build


performances. • Nominate an administrator for AMEA’s Outstanding Administrator Award. The application can be found on the AMEA website and is due on July 15. • Keep up to date on research supporting music education and distribute the information to students, classroom teachers, parents, and administrators through newsletters, bulletin boards, websites, emails, and Facebook. Create program inserts highlighting the benefits of music education for your concerts and performances. Some current


facts


include the following: • Schools that have music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without programs (90.2% as


in local


newspapers, newsletters, and websites. Notify administrators at the school and central office. • Ensure that your school stakeholders realize that music and the other arts are listed as a core academic subject in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. • Encourage your students to become music educators. Future Alabama Music Educators (FAME) is a one-day seminar held during our annual in-service, that allows high school juniors and seniors to interact with effective music educators. • Be active in AMEA, which will undertake advocacy efforts at the state level. • Arrange for your ensembles to perform at feeder schools, so the students and parents become excited about their


10


Elem/Gen President Sharon August, AMEA Past President Pat Stegall, President Steve McLendon, Executive Director Garry Taylor, Sean Womack and President-Elect Sara Womack meet with Congressman Bobby Bright during Music Education Week in Washington D.C.


relationships with these individuals before threats to the music program arise. • Encourage school staff and faculty to participate in your music program. Involve them in rehearsals and


compared to 72.9%). In addition, those that rate their programs as “excellent” or “very good” have an even higher graduation rate (90.9%). Schools that have music programs have significantly higher attendance rates than do those


August 2010


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