WMEA News Brad Schneider, WMEA President-Elect
2021 Wisconsin State Music Conference Announcement
WMEA Advocacy Committee
LOOPING BACK
Many participants in the annual Drive-In Day have looped back to their legislators they visited in February to share and cel- ebrate examples of student music learning in their classes.
WMEA is excited to an-
nounce that the 2021 Wisconsin State Music Conference is returning to Monona Terrace in an in-person format. Confer- ence dates are October 27-30.
WMEA President Paul Budde will be greeting attendees at a gala President’s Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening, October 27. The reception will include live music, drinks and refresh- ments... all overlooking beautiful Lake Monona. This 7 p.m. event will be a great opportunity to greet old friends and colleagues that many of us haven’t seen in over two years.
On October 28-29 there will be a full slate of sessions covering, among oth- ers, instrumental and vocal pedagogy, networking, advocacy and post COVID ideas for reaching out to students that elected to pursue other disciplines during the pandemic. Vendors again will be set up in the exhibition hall and the WSMA High School State Honors concerts will return to Overture Center and Monona Terrace.
Check out the conference webpages at
wmeamusic.org/ conference. Registration is now open. Save 25% with the early registration discount.
Senator Janet Bewley discusses the importance of music education with Drive-In Day participants.
Representative Joel Kitchens engages in a virtual Drive-In Day meeting with Paul Budde, Joe Finnegan and Lynn Seidl.
Wisconsin School Musician Continued on page 30 29
Collaborating with WSMA, WMEA also sent out a communication to all state representatives and senators addressing the need for continued support for music education in Wisconsin. A video attach- ment on this communication featured the winner of the WSMA Student Composi- tion Project. The intent of these communi- cations was to highlight the high level of music teaching and learning that occurred despite the pandemic. Contrary to what many believed, schools were not ‘closed.’
On February 16 a subcommittee of the WMEA Advocacy Committee hosted a Proactive Advocacy Summit. Three keynote speakers and four special topic educators led the discussion.
LOOKING AHEAD
The WMEA Advocacy Committee will sponsor two sessions for the Wisconsin State Music Conference. Justin Steger is coordinating a panel discussion titled, “We’re Back... Strategies for Rebuild- ing.” Erica Breitbarth and Ben Zabor will be showcasing their work in bringing the Milwaukee Public School Music initiative to fruition.
Easily access linked content in the online version of WSM.
ESSER Funding and Music Education – The Opportunity of a Lifetime
In March, the third round of stimulus funding, the American Rescue Plan, was signed into law. With this law came an additional $126 billion investment into K-12 education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. The stated purpose of ES- SER funding is to help schools implement safe reopening measures and address the academic, social and emotional needs of students.
The WMEA Advocacy Committee dis- cussed ESSER funding during their sum- mer meeting. It is important to understand that this is the largest investment to date of federal funding into K-12 public education in our lifetimes. It is unprecedented.
The WMEA Advocacy Committee has produced a WMEA ESSER – one-page document that walks teachers through the process of determining WHO in your district you will need to contact, WHAT the funds can be used for, HOW to pro- vide rationale for your request(s) and how much in funds to request. We recommend you review this document linked above.
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