Advocacy

Information from PMEA’s 2013 Advocacy Day

Suggested Talking Points (for members to use when speaking with or writing to legislators)

PMEA Legislative Recommendations (2013) (to give to your local legislators)

• Advocacy in Action: Links for Music Educators
• Contact Advocacy Coordinator, Richard Victor
• Join the Pennsylvania Leadership Advocacy Network, (PLAN)
• PLAN (The PMEA Leadership Advocacy Network) Facebook Group
• PMEA District 1 February/March Advocacy Newsletter
• MIOSM Editorial by Brett Hosterman

Article by former PMEA Outstanding Superintendent, Joseph Batory

Cutting Upper Darby’s Elementary Music and Art Programs in a Dangerous “Roll of the Dice” Educationally

NAfME Advocacy for All: A Guide to Member Resources

Overview (How NAfME Advocates for You)

• We are the “national voice” for music education, advocating on Capitol Hill to protect school music for our nation’s students.
• We build coalitions, strengthening NAfME’s profile and increasing capacity for achieving music advocacy goals.
• We provide assistance to our members on the ground by supplementing their grassroots efforts with resources and advice.

Advocacy Resources (Tools for Conducting Proactive Advocacy and Crisis Management)

1. NAfME Advocacy Groundswell http://advocacy.nafme.org
   NAfME Advocacy Groundswell is a social media-based advocacy hub designed to cultivate an online community of NAfME members from across the country interested in participating in advocacy initiatives, engaging in discussions about advocacy and regularly digesting advocacy news.
2. Legislative Memo http://www.nafme.org/news/view/nafme-legislative-memo
   Twice a month briefing on music education policy issues. Features a segment focusing on music advocacy efforts taking place at the state and local level.
3. Support Music Counterpoint Archives http://www.nammfoundation.org/support-music/counterpoint
   A highly focused series of articles by authors like John Benham on music education-related topics like advocacy, coalition- building, and budgeting, among many others.
4. Music Advocacy: Moving From Survival to Vision by John Benham
   Co-published with: The National Association for Music Education

This book is a summary of the practice of music advocacy. It is a compilation of research and experience gained from 30 years experience by one of the nation’s most successful advocates for music education. It provides the music educator, administrator, school board member, and community advocate with step-by-step procedures for saving and building school music programs. The methods presented in this book are responsible for saving $70 million in proposed music cuts equivalent to approximately 2000 teaching positions and 400,000 music students.

NAfME Federal Requests (Working to Protect Music at the National Level)

In any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we ask Congress to:

• Mandatethat students receive a well-rounded, complete and comprehensive education by:
  • Maintaining the status of the arts as a core academic subject under ESEA, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9101 (11).
  • Requiring that all students have access to instruction in all core subjects, including music.
• Require the U.S. Department of Education to collect and disseminate data on the availability of education in music and the other arts in local districts and schools.
• Include in ESEA local accountability for education in music and the other arts, including measurement of music success.
• Ensure that all appropriate federal funding sources under ESEA are made available to music education programs.
• Continue to require highly qualified, certified teachers in music and the other arts.

For a printer friendly version of this document, click here.

PMEA Advocacy DVD Available Online

The abbreviated version (approximately 12 minutes long) of PMEA’s award winning DVD, The Music Lesson: Treat Music Like it Really Matters is now Online via YouTube by searching for PMEA Music Lesson. The full length DVD was recently recognized with a national Telly Awards for best documentary. Viewers see how important music is to the students and the school, the influence of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association to music teachers, testing, scheduling and budgets, incorporating music into the curriculum, starting an advocacy program and what it takes to have a successful program. If you want people on your side, share this outstanding video. Both the full and abbreviated versions of the DVD are available for purchase online by selecting the Online Store menu option and typing the keyword “advocacy” into the search box.