Volume2Issue35
March10,2015
MusicAdvocacy:
Elevators,Charts,andThank-You(s)
ByJeremyEarnhart
Bo#omline:Thebenefitsofstrongmusicandarts
programstakelongertomanifestthanthetenureofan
upwardlymobileadministratororelectedofficial.Tobe
goodstewardsofourprograms,wemustsharpenourskills
toadvocatefortheshorttermwhiledevelopingthelong
game.
Story,data,andpeopleskillsareeffecBveinstrumentsto
promoteyourprogram.Musiceducatorturnedprincipal
KerryHartrecommendsthatmusicteachersdeveloptheir
soFskillstogarneradministraBvesupport.ThisarBclewill
exploredevelopingaconvincingelevatorpitch,and
creaBngpersuasiverequestdocuments,aswellasthe
hiddenpowerofthankyou.
Story:EntertheElevator
Best-sellingbusinessauthorDanielPinkholdsthattoday
weareallinsales,andeverygoodsalespersoncansellhis
orherplaLorminanelevatorpitch.Whatisyourelevator
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
JeremyEarnhartisdirectoroffinearts
fortheArlington,TX,Independent
SchoolDistrict.EducaBngover64,000
students,AISDprovidesworld-class
musical,visual,andkinestheBcarts
programs.Previously,Earnhartwas
directoroffineartsfortheIrving(TX)
speechformusiceducaBon?Whatisyourstory?Consider
thefollowing:
Strongmusicprogramsincreasethe"bangforyour
educaBonalbuck."
Musicclasses
havehighpotenBalstudent-teacherraBos,
fulfillcompleBonrequirements,and
helpincreasea#endance,graduaBonrates,
andtestscores.
Musicisahigh-yieldinvestmentinourstudents,
schools,andcommunity.
Thenextstepistohaveaconsistentmessageusingdata
andlocalstoriestosupportyourelevatorpitch.Combine
celebraBnglocalindividualorgroupaccomplishments
whileincludingthatstudentsoftheartsconsistently
outperformtheirnon-artspeersontheSATby11%to12%.
ISD(2009-2013)anddirectorofthe
stateandnaBonalchampionL.D.Bell
HighSchoolBand(1998-2009).
Earnhartgraduatedfromthe
UniversityofNorthTexaswithaBM
andMME,hascerBficaBonsin
InternaBonalBaccalaureateMusic,and
iscurrentlyworkingonhistreaBsein
theEd.D.programatDallasBapBst
University.HeisanacBveclinician,
adjudicator,andpresenterforstaff
developmentsandconferencessuchas
theTexasBandmastersAssociaBon,
TexasMusicAdministrators
Conference,andtheMidwestClinic.
Earnhartalsoservesasaconsultantfor
groupsincludingthe2011naBonal
championBrokenArrowHighSchool
Band,andasmusiccoordinatorforthe
PhantomRegimentDrumandBugle
Corps.
ContactJeremy
Viewalargerversionofthecharthere.
Char:ngData
Numbersdon'ttalk,theyswear.Wecannotescape,and
shouldactuallyembrace,data-drivendecisionmaking.The
truthwillsetmusiceducaBonfree,whenappliedto
studentachievement(TexasMusicEducatorsAssociaBon,
2015)andeconomics(Benham).
Ihavefoundthatasuccessfulrequestdocumenthasthree
maincharacterisBcs:
Itfitsononecolorfulpage
Itcontainscharts
Itisnotonlystudentcenteredbutalsofeatures
picturesofstudents
CharBngdataforyourprogramcanbolsteryouradvocacy
efforts.Simplechartscangraphicallyencapsulatewhat
mighttakeparagraphstoconvey.Chartsmaybecreated
foranythingthatcanbeassignedanumber,suchas
Conn-SelmerIns8tutefaculty,
NancyTaylorduringhersessionlastyear!
Viewthe2015CSIFacultyLine-uphere.
JoinusJUNE7---10
atBethelCollegeinMishawaka,IN
forthe2015Conn-SelmerIns:tute!
REGISTERHERE
Formoreinforma8oncontactKellyat
[email protected]
AdditionalArticles
Securinglocalbusinesspartnersfor
artseduca:onadvocacy
enrollmenttrends,funding,andnumbersofsolosor
ensembleparBcipants.
Textcanalsoberepresentedindisplayform,liketheword
cloudsthatcanbecreatedonwordle.net.Forexample,
lisBngthedifferentacBviBesinwhichstudentsfromyour
programarealsoinvolved(ortheWordlethatappearsat
thetopofthisarBcle).Basically,chartanythingtovisualize
yourpoint.
Thank-You(s)
WhenIwasgrowinguponNewYork'sLongIsland,the
pronounyouswasanacceptedpluralformofyou.
A#endingtheUniversityofNorthTexasrevealedtomethe
southernvernaculary'all.Regardlessofwhichformisthe
mostacceptabletoyourdecisionmakers-yous,y'all,or
similar-besuretoaddtheprefixthank.
In1986,JanetJacksonsang,"Whathaveyoudoneforme
lately."Whilethismaybeacommondefaultsekngof
humannature,IsuggestthatthoseadvocaBngformusic
educaBonmakeagreaterefforttothankdecisionmakers.
WhilethehecBcday-to-daypaceoncampusmayallowus
toseeonlytothenextschoolholiday,schoolboardand
administraBondecisionsare(hopefully)measuredand
consideramulByearstrategy.Therefore,ratherthanbeing
quesBonedaboutwhatthey'vedoneforyoulately,
supportersshouldberecognizedoverBme.
OFen,thank-yousarerequiredevenifyoudidnotgetwhat
youreallywanted.Thankyou,but...issimplynotathankyou.Intheresource-strappedbureaucracyofpublic
educaBon,whiningorguilBngareseldomeffecBveforany
lengthofBme.
InsomefinancialorpoliBcalclimates,adecisionnottocut
orreducemaybeconsideredavictoryforproponentsof
thearts.SomeBmesmaintainingthestatusquowillsBll
necessitateapro-musiceducaBonstanceonthepartof
decision-makers.WeneedtorememberthatanyposiBve
decisionmadeforourprogramswillhavelasBngeffectsfor
studentsandstakeholders.
Conclusion
Dr.TimLautzenheiserholdsthatwe"mustfocuson
developingpeopleskillsaspartoffundamentalteacher
preparaBon."Theseskillscanbefurtherdevelopedforall
musiceducaBonstakeholdersunderthebannerof"Music
Advocacy:Elevators,Charts,andThank-You(s)."Haveyour
pitchandstorypracBced,chartthatdata,and-"Ithanked
toomanypeopletoomanyBmes,"saidnomusiceducator
ever.
"TheChallenge:HowcanIgetlocal
businessestosupportartseduca8on
advocacyefforts?TheStrategy:1.Ask2.Ask
smart.TheStory:Businesssupportforthe
artsisalongstandingtradi8on,butaskinga
localbusinesstogetinvolvedinyourarts
advocacyeffortmayseemlikeamore
difficultsell."
---CaliforniaAllianceforArtsEducaBon
Windowofopportunity?
Adolescence,music,andalgebra.
"Theresearchergatheredtestscoresfrom
6,026studentsinthestateofMarylandfrom
the2006-07administra8onofthe
Algebra/DataAnalysisHighSchool
Assessment.Acorrela8onstudywas
conductedusingsta8s8calanalysistoexplore
theinfluenceofformalmusicinstruc8on
duringthemiddleschoolyearsonninthgrader'salgebraachievement."
---B.H.Helmrich,JournalofAdolescentRese
SharethisgreatAdvocacyPDFbythe
ArtsEduca:onPartnershipandthe
NAMMFounda:onwithyourdistrict!
ViewthePDFhere.
PleasewelcomeourFebruaryVIPs!
Dr.BradleySheppard
ElkhartCommunitySchools,IN
DavidVandewalker
GeorgiaStateUniversity,GA
Dr.AliceHammel
VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity
JamesMadisonUniversity,VA
"Unfortunately,weoften0indourselves"preachingtothechoir."Itisnot
dif0iculttogetmusicians,musiceducators,andmusicparentstoagreeabouttheimportanceofmusic;thesearethe
peoplewhohavealreadymadeacommitmentandthemusicadvocacyinformationsimplycon0irmstheirfavorable
posture.Itisnowtimetomoveoutofthecomfortzoneandbegintocommunicatewiththosewhoarenotinvolvedin
music.Wehaveagreatstorytotellbecausemakingmusicismorethanplayinganinstrumentorsinginginachoir.
Musiccreatesablueprintofsuccessthatoutlineseveryaspectoflife."
---Dr.TimLautzenheiser
"SharingtheGoodNewswiththeRightPeople"intheTexasBandmastersAssocia8onJournal
References
Benham,JohnL.2011.MusicAdvocacy.Lanham,MD:Rowman&Li#lefieldEducaBon.
Hart,Kerry.2003."FromanAdministrator'sPerspecBve:PracBcalSurvivalSkillsforMusicEducators."MusicEducatorsJournal90(2):41-45.
doi:10.2307/3399933.
Lautzenheiser,Tim.2005.MusicAdvocacyandStudentLeadership:KeyComponentsofEverySuccessfulMusicProgram,p.37.Chicago:GIA
PublicaBons.
Pink,DanielH.2012.ToSellIsHuman.NewYork:RiverheadBooks.
TexasMusicEducatorsAssociaBon.2013."StudentsEnrolledinFineArtsCoursesScoreHigherontheSATthanThosewithNoFineArts
Coursework"(datafile).AccessedFebruary23,2015.h#p://www.tmea.org/assets/pdf/NaBonal_SAT_Score_Comparison.pdf
---------.2015."AdvocacyMaterialsforDistribuBon."FineArtsParBcipaBonData(PowerPointpresentaBon).AccessedFebruary23,2015.
h#p://www.tmea.org/resources/advocacy/materials.
CarolynSauer
VIPProgramManager
DivisionofEducaBon
Conn-Selmer,Inc.
[email protected]
574.523.0667
Interestedinwri8ngforTouchpoint?ContactCarolyn!
Copyright © Conn-Selmer, Inc. 2014. All Rights Reserved.