mentoring Supporting Each Other:
The ECMTC Project Speaker Series Laura Dunbar, WMEA State Chair, Mentoring
The Early Career Music Teacher Collaboration (EC- MTC) Project is off to a great start! We have 11 mentees and 24 mentors in our inaugural year. As per the mission of our new mentoring
project, we have been working to build the networks while providing a space for professional development and sharing ideas to both mentors and mentees. A sur- vey was administered to all participants in November to determine what topics would be the focus of our speaker series and pos- sible topics for “PD on demand.” While the speaker series was being arranged, mentor teachers volunteered to contact our early career teachers every couple of weeks to check in and cheer on our new colleagues during December and the first part of January.
Our speakers this year are also mentors for the ECMTC Project. Our first speaker was Katie Prihoda, music educator at Tomah Middle School. Katie’s session, How to Stay Sane: A Crash Course in Self-Care, was presented on Tuesday, January 26.
Those in attendance had the opportunity to talk through struggles and share suc- cesses with someone who was willing to talk openly about her personal quest to balance a busy teaching schedule while staying healthy both mentally and physi- cally. All in attendance made connections with information Katie presented, and we are grateful she was willing to share her expertise.
On March 3 Chris Gleason, music educa- tor at Patrick Marsh Middle School and 2017 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, presented Empowering Students Through Assessment. The surveys collected from the ECMTC Project participants requested more information on engagement and assessment for both in-person and online environments. Chris volunteered to ad- dress both, and we were excited to see his presentation.
Our final presentation will consist of a panel presenting on Tips and Tricks of the Trade. The panel consists of Matt Lamb, music educator at Glenwood City School; Lissa Benson, Kegonsa Elementary, Stoughton Area School District; Kendra Junk, Medford Area Middle School and Senior High School; and Eva Stokes,
Kohler Middle and High Schools. This group of music educators will be discuss- ing strategies they have found successful in their classrooms. I look forward to facilitating discussion with this wonder- ful panel.
Thank you to all who have been involved with the ECMTC Project this year. Al- though it has been an interesting year for all, I find myself very fortunate to work with so many amazing colleagues. A special thank you to those who have vol- unteered to speak as part of our series this year. We all benefit from sharing expertise and ideas. As Phil Collins sang in the song “Son of Man” on the Tarzan soundtrack: “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.”
How to Get Involved
Interested in being part of the ECMTC Project? More information can be found on the WMEA website: https://wmea
music.org/pro-development/mentoring/. There are links to registration forms for both mentors and mentees.
Laura Dunbar is assistant professor of music education and music education coordinator at UW-Eau Claire. Email:
dunbarll@uwec.edu
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April 2021
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