Creative Communication from the Start!
- Have an open door policy for your classroom. Invite your administrators, colleagues, and parents into your room. By observing your classroom, each stakeholder will have the opportunity to understand how your music classroom is structured and learning is facilitated.
- Have a copy of your curriculum available for your administrators, colleagues, and parents. You may choose to provide this communication through a variety of channels such as a class website, copies sent home with students, or provided at meetings with parents.
- Use positive communication. Students and parents like to know when success is being mastered in a class. Utilize your local school communication tools such as agendas that go home and communication cards that your students may use. Positive communication on mastery of concepts being learned and positive behavior improve the communication between parents and teachers. The teacher is the best advocate for their classroom; use communication to validate learning for your students.
Let the internet work for you:
- Create a private Facebook group where you can share pictures and videos
- Post pictures and videos of activities to your school’s Facebook page or website
- Send out weekly grade level emails about concepts and videos of activities
Use this PowerPoint with your Orff Chapter or with local teachers to generate and encourage thinking on how to promote their program within their school district.
Download the Power Point presentation HERE. (Note: If the file does not open directly in PowerPoint, your browser may have placed the file in your computer’s Download folder. Click on the file from the Download folder to view.)
Use this article in your music programs to get parents more involved in music education: The Benefits of Music Education. Or encourage classroom teachers to include it in their weekly newsletters. Not only does this article discuss how music education helps brain development, IQ, and language development, but it also promotes children singing, listening, and moving to music.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL PowerPoint
The following PowerPoint presentation may be shared with your school community at Back-to-School Night and other events. The download link allows you to access the file and modify the slide show, changing text and images, to make it specific to your school site. Please remember to have photo release forms, signed by a parent/guardian, for any images that may be viewed outside your school setting. (AOSA has signed release forms for images used in this presentation.)
Download the Power Point presentation HERE. (Note: If the file does not open directly in PowerPoint, your browser may have placed the file in your computer’s Download folder. Click on the file from the Download folder to view.)
Follow these steps before there is a music crisis at your school site:
- Show this video at a Parent Teachers Association meeting.
- Include one or two talking points from compelling research in support of k-12 music in every school newsletter.
Funding Your Trip to Conference
Sample Letter: Proposal to Attend Conference
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