Marie McCarthy, Editor
The focus of this Fall issue is Enriching the Cur- riculum through School-Community Partnerships. The relationship between school and community has been an ongoing theme of school music since its introduction into public education in the 1830s. School music is rooted in and arose out of the social and cultural needs of communities. The word “community” permeates music education literature in the last century. The most recent focus on school music and community acknowledges the diverse musical life of the community and the value of engaging with it to enrich the music curriculum. School-community partnerships imply an inter- dependent, two-way process, with benefits for all partners who come together to provide access and resources, share musical knowledge and experi- ence, and ultimately advance musical culture. In re- cent years, the partnering of school and community music has been associated with advocacy, intergen- erational learning, life-long learning, multicultural education, place-based education, service learning, and social justice projects, to name some of the dy- namic ways in which the benefits are framed. The scope of school-community partnerships in music education is broad, evident in the range of projects described in this issue.
In President Christina Hornbach’s message, she emphasizes the value of being in the MMEA com- munity and the importance of each member of the community to the overall success of the organiza- tion. Being part of a community can foster a sense of belonging and develop commitment to a group that is working toward a common goal. Commu- nity is a powerful concept and way forward. In a similar way, the musical community formed within a classroom or a school is vital to the overall musi- cal life of the community at large, and vice versa. This is a key concept in appreciating the value of school-community partnerships and collaborations. School music is an integral part of community life, drawing from that community as it contributes to it, thus creating a synergy that clarifies and dignifies the mission of music in education.
In the opening article of this issue, Suzanne Bur- ton lays out some basic ideas about initiating and implementing school-community partnerships. Although the focus is on general music, the ideas and principles she describes can be applied to other instructional contexts. Anita Prest, a Cana- dian music educator, describes how she came to
recognize and value the musical resources of her rural school community in British Columbia. The case she makes for place-based education is strong, and the message to music educators is to learn to identify the “invisible local music making practic- es” and to draw on them to enrich the curriculum. Elizabeth Menard shows how various partners can collaborate “to work toward a better music educa- tion for urban youth.” Several authors point out that research and evaluation of partnerships is an important component in the total process. Phillip Hash shares some findings from studies of school- orchestra partnerships, another resource in many communities. Daniel Albert compiled a valuable list of books, articles and online resources about school-community partnerships. The annotations that accompany many of the sources inform the music educator of their relevance to and usefulness in a particular school-community context.
In addition to providing foundational ideas and examples of how school-community partnerships can enrich the music curriculum, another goal of this issue is to celebrate school-community proj- ects that are already in place around the state. As I planned the issue I kept foremost in mind the unique topographical features and diverse regions of the state—from urban Detroit to the shore of Lake Michigan, from the rural midlands to the Upper Peninsula. In soliciting articles, I wanted to represent that diversity and highlight the role of school-community context in the development of partnerships and projects. No doubt, there are several other partnerships worthy of documentation and I hope that this issue will serve to inspire music teachers to share their projects in future issues of the journal, in professional conferences such as the Michigan Music Conference, or in online forums.
From Around the State, the part of the issue that presents partnerships from Michigan, begins in the Upper Peninsula. Cathy Wilkinson describes various partnerships implemented by a group of her colleagues in Norway, Marquette, Escanaba, Brim- ley, Sault Sainte Marie, and Cedarville. Traveling south, the next story comes from Lowell, MI. Steve Dieleman documents how the Fusion Rock Orches- tra founded by Wendy and Aaron Tenney at Lowell HS has drawn on the principles of service-learning to develop its connections to the community. David Smith of Western Michigan University illustrates how teacher educators can partner with the com- munity to enrich the curriculum and model partner- ships for preservice teachers. Moving east to Ann
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From the Editor
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