administration
An Empty Room Pat Barnett, WMEA State Chair, Administration
Music Minds, Big- ger Minds… I could not agree more. Af- ter a lifetime of ser- vice to music and arts education in the public schools, I know the intended and even unforeseen cognitive outcomes
that happen as a result of participation in music in the schools. Here’s the question I’ve been pondering in light of my circum- stances in a small district tucked away in a far flung corner of Northern Wisconsin… How do you create those Music Minds and Bigger Minds when there is a shortage of qualified music teachers?
Our very talented vocal music teacher had an incredible opportunity to move to a district 15 minutes from his home and cut his commute down by 30 minutes. Who can argue with that logic? I thought that it would be no problem to find a replacement.
How wrong I was. I reached out to every music ed professor contact I could think of across our state and shared with them our needs. What I kept hearing is “our grads already have jobs.”
Then I thought, I’ll reach out to the good old DPI Licensure Department. Surely they’ll have resources to help me. Wrong again, and they told me it’s a great time to grow our own teacher. That would be great four years from now! I’m starting to get desperate when out of the sky comes the CESA fast track to licensure program. Suddenly, I have someone that might fit into this category. Wrong again. As of this writing, I still have no solid prospects to fill our open position.
I’m left with the question, as profession- als, how do we promote our profession to those students who show promise as music educators? Do we encourage them? Give them “stick time” in front of their peers? Take them under our wing and let them in
“… How do you create those Music Minds and Bigger Minds when there is a shortage of qualified music teachers?”
on what the job entails? While the Aspir- ing Music Majors program is awesome once students have zeroed in on a potential career, what can we do to help students see their future as a music teacher?
WSMA Committees It’s Your Organization – Get Involved!
wsmamusic.org/committees
WSMA Committees and Panels are comprised primarily of current WSMA member school music teachers from throughout the state of Wisconsin. These volunteer groups assess, guide, work for and make recommendations for each program.
If you have a question or idea to share, please contact us. If you would like to become involved in a committee, please submit an application. We have needs for additional members at various times, so if we don’t have a spot for you now, we will keep your name on file for future openings.
Festivals Committee •
festivals@wsmamusic.org
Music List Selection/Review Panel •
musiclist@wsmamusic.org Publications Committee •
communications@wsmamusic.org HS State Honors Committee •
honors@wsmamusic.org ML State Honors Committee •
honors@wsmamusic.org Marching Band Committee •
wsmaprograms@wsmamusic.org
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What I’m left with is the prospect of an empty room. A choir room underutilized and vacant for most of the day. Maybe it’s a piecemeal program with local private music teachers or church choir directors filling in until we can find someone to do the job full time. Maybe me as the Principal needs to fill in as the choir director. None of these are the best choices and certainly don’t create a comprehensive, quality music education.
How do we ensure that all students across our great state receive the same high quality instruction that gifts them with the tools to live a life filled with music, not just when we can find a teacher? That is the burning question, and I realize many of you may never have to confront this paradigm. In my wildest dreams, I never expected to. There’s a song from a Christmas classic that begins with the words “put one foot in front of the other.” Who’s ready to join me on the walk?
Patrick Barnett is the 4K–12 principal for the Drummond Area School District.
Email:
pbarnett@dasd.k12.wi.us September 2026
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