Music Teacher Census
national estimates for all music teachers (5%) and all Alabama teachers (1%-5%).
With the data you provided, we can examine the practice of schools hiring uncertified musicians to provide instruction in place of certified teachers. Here is an example.
Unfortunately, many Alabama children were not taught by state-certified teachers last year. The fact is only 81-93% of Alabama music teachers were state certified to teach P-12 music, which is far below national norms.
It seems important to let people know that some of us face unusually demanding working conditions. The census data revealed several surprising statistics.
Approximately one out of every four Alabama music teachers taught at three or
attended a lecture at a university. In addition, 63% of us advised a student to pursue music as a career, 49% mentored a colleague or new teacher, and 37% provided field experiences to college students. I suspect, many of our colleagues are unaware of how involved we are in these areas.
Here are some other interesting findings.
1. 33% of the entire Alabama music teacher workforce will visit more than one school in a week.
more different schools per week. Obviously, holding positions at more than one school requires music teachers to navigate multiple school cultures, administrative policies, and facilities. Many of these teachers serve hundreds of students single- handedly. In fact, 22% of Alabama’s music teachers taught over 700 different students last year. Some of these teachers traveled to as many as 11 different schools in a single week.
In an address I made to the Alabama Vocal Association in September, I stated that music teachers are uniquely dedicated to professional growth, peer leadership, formal assessment, and teacher training.
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2. Elementary music teachers make up half of the music teachers in Alabama (49%), with middle and high school music teachers found to be almost equal with 25% teaching at the middle level and 26% percent teaching at a high school.
3. Most Alabama music teachers consider themselves to be general music educators (46%), followed by band directors (35%), and choir directors (12%).
4. Roughly a quarter of Alabama teachers taught classes outside normal school hours (27%).
5. Nearly 9% of Alabama Music Teachers hold National Board Certification while another 1% requested materials to begin
The Alabama Music Teacher Census supported this conclusion.
For example, last year, over 83% of us participated in a music conference, 61% observed a master teacher, and 38%
the NBCT process.
6. Alabama music teachers belong to a wide array of groups with over 35% paying dues to at least two professional organizations.
7. Twelve percent of Alabama’s music teachers presented at a professional music or education conference in 2012-2013.
8. In 2013, Alabama music teachers voluntarily participated in multiple days of music
assessments with certified
adjudicators (44%), served as external assessors (21%), hosted a music assessment (13%), and participated in assessments sponsored by national organizations in the arts and education (8.4%).
9. Maintaining instruments, hiring accompanists, arranging band routines, and taking students to professional concerts all require an investment from school systems, communities, and families. Data from the census indicate 68% percent of the music programs in Alabama received no funding or
inadequate support administrators.
10. Alabama’s Music Programs need an average of $7500.00 per music teacher to provide over 4.1 million dollars of supplies, equipment, music, maintenance, and support. These needs differ by grade level; however, most of the funding needs to be dedicated to purchasing equipment and technology.
Carl Sagan once said, “It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” The Alabama Music Teacher Census provides us with solid observations about who we really are. By having solid answers and a process to continue gathering reliable information, we can begin to set a plan in motion to “win the game” long before we set foot in Montgomery.
Download and access the complete report from the AMEA website. In addition, resources illustrating the statistics in the report are available for downloading.
www.alabamamea.org/ 9 from school
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