Several years ago, I received a rather suspicious envelope in my school mailbox. While it was properly addressed to me, the return address was from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (they were still together at the time). What in the world would this group want with me? Skeptical that this was just another piece of junk mail that every teacher at my school received, I dismissed it as such. I even went so far as to drop the unopened envelope on my desk and left for the day. The next morning, I arrived at school and went through my typical morning routine prepping for classes when I noticed the envelope again. Expecting nothing, I opened the envelope to discover an invitation to attend an all-expenses paid conference in the state of Washington for educators across the country. Overjoyed by the invitation, but saddened that I almost missed the opportunity, I began making plans to attend. While chatting with some of my teacher friends across the state of Alabama, I learned that several of them had also received invites and were excited about the opportunity as well.
The Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference convened and brought me face-to-face with some of the best teachers in the country, sharing ideas about education and demonstrations of new and timely strategies to try. While not purely musical, I was able to transfer the knowledge to my classroom. While there, we were encouraged to stop by a photo both with white boards and dry erase markers and answer the question “Why I Teach?” Our pictures and answers littered the walls of the conference space as participants read them and became inspired to encapsulate the energy and bring it back to their schools. Prior to this meeting, I had not really thought about the question, but since then, the question continues to challenge me. For some, the answer of why I teach continues to be the same year after year. For me in my continued quest to be a better teacher, my answer evolves.
As president of AMEA, these phrases “Why I teach?”, “elevating and celebrating effective teachers and teaching “(ECET2), and “best teachers in the country” remind me of the membership of AMEA. Your governing board uses the annual professional development conference to honor, celebrate, uplift, answer your why, and fill your toolbox with new and timely strategies to elevate your learning and your students’ learning. While we cannot always meet the needs of every individual teacher’s situation, we try our best to address what we can. Imagine the opportunities you might miss if you missed our upcoming AMEA professional development conference? Don’t do as I did and wait to secure your spot. Do so today!
Southern Division Meeting
In early September, President-elect Travis Bender, Past President Rob Lyda, Executive Director Rusty Logan, and I attended the Southern Division annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Delegations from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Virginia and West Virginia were in attendance. One tradition at this meeting has been joining colleagues from the Southern Division for dinner the night before the meeting. Initially, I planned to skip the dinner meeting and just drive to Atlanta on Sunday, attend the meeting, and then drive home, but what opportunities for comradery was I missing by not attending the dinner? Never wanting to miss an opportunity to learn from others, I attended the Saturday afternoon dinner and made great connections with our Southern music education association friends. Hearing some of the celebrations and issues they are having, which are like our own, let me know that AMEA is doing great things.
During the meeting on Sunday, we were challenged by NAfME’s President Deb Confredo, and others, to continue to reach out to our membership and beyond and encourage those who may not be associated with AMEA to learn more about our organization. She also shared NAfME’s efforts to create a mentorship model for states to adapt specifically for their own state and follow. More on this later. Are there music teachers in your district who are not members of AMEA? Are there fresh-out-of-college music teachers or those new to the music teaching profession who are not members? What can we as an association do to elevate, celebrate, honor, and assist these teachers further? What can you to do assist in this effort? Seriously and humbly, let us know. Never miss an opportunity to tap someone on the shoulder to celebrate them and make our profession and association stronger.
Professional Development Conference
In August, the AMEA governing board met to finalize the 2025 Professional Development Conference schedule. Delegations from each division evaluated and selected a varied array of sessions and concerts designed to encourage, inspire, honor, and educate. Our exhibit space will be filled with vendors so be sure to make plans to visit and shop. The halls of the BJCC will be filled with music as our lobby performers perform. Susan Smith, former AMEA President and current Southern Division President will be speaking at the Leadership Breakfast, while Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser will serve as our keynote speaker at the general assembly and will fill other roles during the conference. Most importantly, opportunities for you to connect or reconnect with other music teachers from across the state will be available. Have you renewed your membership to NAfME and AMEA? Have you preregistered for the conference? Have you secured your hotel for the conference? All of this can be completed on our website https://myamea.org/professional-development-conference/. Never miss an opportunity to grow and learn with a community of music educators.
Capital Tunes
The Alabama State Department of Education, the Alabama Music Educators Association, and the Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts encourage you to apply for your small ensemble to perform in the Rotunda of the Alabama State Capital Building during the 2025 Legislative sessions in February or March. This opportunity is for public schools in the state to travel to Montgomery to showcase your small ensembles (no more than 20-25 students). Please see the AMEA website for more details and to apply. https://myamea.org/capitol-tunes-celebration/.
During my tenure as president, one of my many goals is to never miss an opportunity to celebrate, honor, and try to uplift you and the great things your programs are doing. With a full-time job, and limited resources, it is sometimes hard for me to get to where you are and witness these things personally and report back to the general membership, but I still want to try. I encourage you to email me pictures and explanations of happenings in our area with your programs. Use the hashtag #ala4musiced when posting on your social media. We hope to see you in January at the conference and remember…never miss an opportunity!