Advocacy for Administrators

  • Make music a priority. Anything is possible if it is deemed important.
  • Ask your music teacher for suggestions.  Good music teachers know what constitutes a good timetable or will consult with colleagues to find out.
  • Ask other administrators for suggestions. Why reinvent the wheel when the school down the road has already met the challenge?
  • Provide all music classes with certified music specialists. Recruit and hire competent teachers, asking current music teachers for assistance in the hiring process.
  • Coordinate class schedules to minimize conflict of music classes with other courses.
  • Provide adequate funding for your music program. A budget should include funding for staffing, instruments, maintenance and repair, purchase of music, current technology and a teaching environment that is equipped with the furniture and teaching supports to enable the teacher to effectively do his or her job.
  • Ensure that the music program is part of the entire school year. A good program creates a community within the entire school population and reaches into the local community.
  • Show your support by attending concerts. Drop by classrooms/rehearsals the next day to talk with the students. This is where the learning is celebrated.
  • Encourage music teachers to network with other music teachers. Often they are the lone music teacher in the school.
  • Encourage and support music teachers to attend quality professional development opportunities (e.g. provincial Music Educator’s Conference (MEA) conference, Orff Association conference).
  • Provide new/inexperienced music teachers mentoring opportunities with an experienced music teacher within the school and/or in other schools to help build the program and create teacher confidence and expertise.
  • Connect your music teacher with the Coalition for Music Education website (www.musicmakesus.ca) and/or your provincial music education organization. These organizations provide an abundance of networking and professional development opportunities as well as resources.