Program Health

You have grand plans for your music program, but money is tight. In 2015, music educators celebrated the passing of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which calls for a "well-rounded education" that includes music and the arts. But it's been almost five years since ESSA was signed into law, and your program is working to stretch every dollar.  

Socialization is typically a by­product of a music program. However, in one music class at Parkway Central Middle School in Chesterfield, Missouri, socialization is the goal. Parkway Central hosts a chapter of United Sound, a national not-for-profit program that provides musical performance experiences for students with special needs through peer mentorship.

In Case Study: Peers Support Peers at a United Sound Chapter in Missouri, we looked at how Parkway Central Middle School's band members have embraced being peer mentors to special-needs students through United Sound, a nonprofit that provides musical performance experiences for special-needs children.

You can feel the enthusiasm and hear the reverberating sound of music and movement. Every summer, 75 high school students in Fort Worth, Texas, can hone their percussion skills at one of the most opulent places in the city, the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall.

Responsible financial planning by the booster club is critical to the short-term and long-term success of your music program.

"It's sad that music has been cut from our public schools" is a sentiment that, unfortunately, is heard all too often these days. But I'm happy to report that the winds are changing. 

In 2016, the wind ensemble at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee, performed on the main stage at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival. That performance inspired Lauren Ramey and Cassandra Brosvik, Ravenwood's choir director and orchestra director, respectively, to help their ensembles strive for the same level of achievement.

As music teachers, we often focus on the aspects of program development that we can directly control — what and how we teach. We consider the value or danger of starting strings students using tapes, whether or not the French embouchure truly eliminates biting on the clarinet, when and how solfège should be introduced, and why every or no brass player should employ free-buzzing exercises.

You have a long list of goals when you enter the classroom each day: Be a better music educator. Help students succeed. Feel inspired and empowered. We want to help you achieve all of your goals. 

Michael Pote, an award-winning band director and highly sought-after speaker, clearly demonstrates that success in a large, high-profile program stems from understanding and utilizing the strengths of everyone involved as well as equipping students with the musical tools necessary to guarantee achievement at the highest level.