Develop communication tools and key talking points. Tink about what you want to say and to whom (audience). Col- lect compelling stories from participants, appropriate data for your program, and positive descriptions of your pro- gram from non-participants. Take the time to think about how that message might be communicated in a variety of different ways, and if helpful write out each message so you are comfortable with the delivery method for each venue. Be able to communicate your message through a variety of media: Twitter, Facebook, school board presentation, con- cert talk, and a myriad of other long and short form media.
Advocate! Develop a specific advocacy plan that describes how you will use your communication tools to share your message with your network. Demonstrate how you meet program and school outcomes. Have students, parents, and alumni share their personal stories with administrators, legislators, and the community. Capitalize on the “perfor- mance” part of the performing arts. Create a performance schedule that is appropriate and workable for your situation that emphasizes that music is something everyone can “do”, then share this “doing” of music both inside and outside of your network. Show as many people as possible what mu- sical literacy is, and how music study meets district goals, national priorities and creates well-rounded members of society. If you are regularly in contact with your network, students’ needs will not be new or surprising. Should a crisis of scheduling, budget or other support arise, they will be able and willing to explain the value of music education to decision makers and argue for its support. If your network is broad, supportive, and informed, you may never even have a dire situation arise. Finally, but most importantly, take time to thank your network.
Listen and adapt. All of the thinking, planning, teaching, and communicating you have done will be more effective if you take time to understand the interests and needs of all network members. Certainly this means listening to your students, but also to the wider community. For example, what are your students’ musical needs and influences? How do they “do” music? What is important to them and what do they care about? Similar questions can be asked of the wider community; yet in addition, you’ll want to know what your community needs to understand about what you do and why you do it. Certainly, everyone engages with music, so try to find ways students, their families, colleagues and community members can engage with, and come to value, music study in your situation. Tis does not mean you pro- vide everything that every stakeholder asks for, but rather that you develop a music program that is as inclusive of as many students as possible while matching program goals to the needs of your students and the local community.
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Successful advocacy is a multifaceted endeavor. Te rea- sons for decreased support for education, and specifically arts education, are numerous and complex and can not be simply solved by “better marketing”. Our constituents and decision makers are as varied as is all the music ever created by humans. In this column I have outlined a few initial steps to guide readers in developing a successful approach to program advocacy. Ultimately, each educator will have to design their own approach to advocacy based on local knowledge coupled with their own professional knowledge and personal understanding of what it means to have a suc- cessful music program.
Kevin Tutt is the Associate Dean for Curriculum, Pedagogy and Academ- ic Opportunities for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is also a Professor in the Department of Music and Dance where he conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and has taught 17 different music courses across the areas of performance, meth- ods and general education.
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