MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH

An advocacy effort more important than ever before.

As this article is being written, messages of doom about state budget deficits and its effect on local school budget cuts and the elimination of school music programs are falling like leaves in a dense autumn forest. The month of March has traditionally been designated Music in Our Schools Month and with these fiscal realities, our efforts this month and beyond will be more important than ever before.

What’s a person to do when the fiscal sky is falling? How can we make a case for music as part of schools when all that seems to matter is student success on reading and math standardized tests?

Through NAMM’s efforts, and the outcomes of past and present collaborations with partners such as VH1 Save the Music and MENC, the National Association for Music Education, many vital tools are at hand to advance efforts to assure that music education is adequately funded locally. More than ever before, we have the knowledge that the public understands the value and importance of music in schools; this has been clearly demonstrated by Gallup Poll statistics. We have broad distribution of the Einstein Advocacy Kit produced by the American Music Conference that provides an advocacy road map to retailers and their customers. Through AMC, billions of media impressions about the benefits of music are produced annually. Music research supports the case for the benefits of music education and this knowledge is broadly disseminated. The newest tool in the advocacy arsenal will be launched on March 12 at the SupportMusic.com website; a collaborative initiative with MENC to support music education advocacy efforts on the local level.

But is this enough to effect the management of local school funding where decisions can and will be made to fund music education in local communities? The blunt answer is NO! When funding for music programs are threatened, parents of children in the schools must demand music as part of quality education for their children, and as taxpayers, school leadership and management are ultimately accountable to them. The force and will of parents is the primary reason music programs continue to be funded in the face of threatened cuts. And in this regard, local music retailers can provide, and without an enormous amount effort, pivotal assistance in the process to help assure that music education is adequately funded on the local level.

Here are a few tips for local retailers and concerned parents:

• Don’t take no for an answer

Even in the face of demands for accountability in basic academic subjects, music is a vital pathway for learning for children and this is demonstrated over and over again. Dozens of supporting facts are available at SupportMusic.com in a new tool called “build your case” – facts can be used for school board presentations, letters to the editor. The Einstein Advocacy kit, also available via the AMC website, has templates for brochures, flyers and posters that local advocates can use to drum up support.

• Engage the Stakeholders

A couple of calls to parents who are passionate about music as a part of their children’s education can get them inspired to lead the charge locally; provide them with the Einstein kit, network to the AMC website, SupportMusic.com website

• If you are a music retailer have an in-store advocacy kiosk – set up a computer with and internet connection to SupportMusic.com and AMC; download and print out what parents need. Host an in-store organizational meeting; don’t run the meeting, but support the organization of parents who will carry the message to the school board.
• Believe in the impossible and don’t give up; a handful of impassioned citizens can lead the charge to assure music education opportunities for hundreds of children – your optimism, support and determination in the face of these challenges can make a big difference.