Building Support for Music Education: A Practical Guide

Set up a small and enthusiastic team, and ask each team member to develop a network of helpers.

Getting Started

Individuals, informal groups, and a few interested organizations are working to maintain and improve access to quality music education in public schools. Local action to assure that music programs are funded scurry into place and peak at moments of budget crisis and threats to program funding. This crisis management is a reality. Facts and resources on SupportMusic.com can help you move quickly into action - prepare for a 3-minute advocates speech in front of the school board, write a letter to local media, host a community action meeting, and focus on reasons why funding and support for music education must continue. These resources are a few clicks away on the site.

It is also important to organize - however loosely - for sustained and pro-active involvement from the community to assure support for music. The Music Education Coalition and SuportMusic.com is an expanding network of organization knitted together to support action on the local level - YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT TO MAKING SURE THAT YOUR CHILD AND CHILDREN IN YOUR COMMUNITY HAVE ACCESS TO MUSIC AS PART OF A QUALITY EDUCATION. Effective action for your community cannot be achieved next door, it must take place in your community for your kids.

Most decisions about the curriculum and budget in America are made at the state and local levels. The time for action is now—with efforts being maintained for the foreseeable future.

The Music Education Coalition and SupportMusic.com network is expanding to include national, regional, state-level and local affiliates that will track legislation and as appropriate, inform and provide options for action. However, sustainability of funding for music in local communities is in YOUR hands. Many of the problems faced by music programs stem from the fact that the public and decision makers simply do not understand the nature and value of music education. They need information about its importance, and as an interested and informed citizen, you can lead an effort to make sure that music is a vital part of a quality education for all children - starting with the children in your community.

Support for music in your community generally starts with a small and passionate group of people - many times they are the parents of students who are experiencing the extraordinary success of music as part of the curriculum. Their passion is infectious and embraces others when funding for these programs is threatened.

Primarily, local citizens need to do the following to need to the following - both in periods of budgetary crisis and as regular information updates and local advocacy efforts

• Motivate and guide local efforts to improve music education in the schools.
• Help local officials become aware of the importance of music education and of the public's commitment to it.
• Ensure that the local school budget and curriculum provide adequately for music instruction.
• Motivate and communicate public support for music education in the schools.

First: Find out if another music education advocacy group is already active in your area. If so, you may want to join their efforts. If not, plan on forming a local group with a team of three to seven committed individuals serving as a steering committee. Select your team members from the various segments of the music community (especially those of local music educators and music merchants), and seek dedicated parents.

Second: Identify the special abilities and resources of your team members. This information will come in handy when you begin to divide the tasks that make up your campaign. Ask these questions:

Who on your team has the best access to parents and parent organization leadership?

• Who has the best access to civic and community groups?
• Who has the best access to the media?
• Who can best make contact with school officials; who can do this diplomatically to the best advantage of the effort?
• Who can most easily identify, monitor, and call on legislators, school board members, or other decision makers for your school system; who is interested in networking to the issue on the state, regional and/or national levels?
• Who is interested in monitoring the school budget, giving your music education advocacy group guidance and input that can influence your actions?

Team Roster Worksheet

Special interests and abilities (build a database to contact the advocacy team):

(name) _________________________
___________________________

(affiliation) _______________________
___________________________

(address) ________________________
___________________________

________________________
___________________________

(telephone) _____________________
(email _________________________

Third: Divide various tasks among several individuals. Monitoring the development of budgets, for example, can be a time-consuming task. Each team member should, therefore, set up a list of colleagues from the team and other volunteers who can be counted on to help. For speed, efficiency, and flexibility, this list may take the form of a telephone/e-mail tree.

Take advantage of existing organizations, such as the local arts council or is applicable, a local Alliance for Arts Education. Other organizations to contact:

Your teachers' organization—it is their job to help all members.

Music coordinators in the local district and in nearby districts.

Retired music teachers and music supervisors—they may be able to contact their former colleagues.

Your students' parents (perhaps through a booster's organization)—they may want to get involved in petitioning and other helpful actions such as circulating flyers about school board meetings. They may also permit one or more of their children to address the board of education.

Well-known local musicians—they can bring your cause to the public.

Your local music dealer or retailer - they may be willing to host organizational meetings and circulate information

Working Together

Even before you begin work on your campaign, you need to work on managing the actions of your campaign for maximum effect. Make certain that every member of your team agrees to the following:
Each communication - verbal or written - should be part of a well-orchestrated effort to reach the goals that your team has set; stay on message and stay on task - if the goal is to assure funding at current levels to sustain access to quality program - make sure everyone marches to that tune; if the goal is to expand or increase funding - stay focused on the benefits of music and why this investment is so important for the community.
Clear lines of communication should be established within your team as well as with other groups and institutions. Circulate short, written summaries of information or actions to everyone on the team.
Communicate, communicate, communicate - and stay focused on clear and child-centered goals - never forget that you are working to assure quality education for your child and all children in your community; a quality education that must include music.