October is my favorite month. Students and teachers are settling into school year routines. Kindergarteners are crying a little less. Bladders are regulated back to school time. Marching band season is in full swing – some are eagerly anticipating the next competition, and some are counting down how many Friday nights are left in the season. Choirs are beginning to learn repertoire for Winter Concerts. Students are beginning the arduous task of preparing for All-State. College football has all of us choosing sides. In almost every elementary music classroom there is one mindboggling week when you are singing Halloween or fall songs, preparing for a Veterans Day program, and beginning to learn music for Winter performances.  Yes, there is so much to love about October.

I’ve often daydreamed about what it would be like to be a regular person in October. What must it feel like to leisurely enjoy an October day?  What is it like to attend an event and not have to provide the music for the event? What is it like to clearly focus on enjoying an event instead of thinking of all the things we must do! Oh, what it must be like to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte gazing at fall colors instead of in my car on the way to the next event. October is a beautifully busy month.

I would be willing to bet, whether we admit to it or not, many of us enjoy the busyness of our lives. We secretly enjoy the rush of adrenaline we get from being busy. We enjoy knowing which concession stand has the best boiled peanuts in our football schedule. We enjoy being asked for our students to perform. We enjoy being a music educator even on the hardest days. We enjoy being busy because we are busy making music with our students. We are so fortunate that in our busyness we help others make something worthwhile and beautiful. Our busy lives facilitate music-making.

Thank you for being busy. Thank you for seeing the beauty in every student. Thank you for being a music educator. I will never feel like I can say thank you enough to any of you. You have done everything in your power to make sure music stayed in your students’ lives during the pandemic. You are a teacher, advocate, cheerleader, social worker, parent, friend, and the descriptors go on and on. You spend countless hours pouring into the future of Alabama. You are one of the many things that makes October beautiful.

I want to feature a few of the ways AMEA has been busy since the last issue of the Ala Breve.

NAfME Virtual Hill Week 2022

The week of September 19 – 23, AMEA members participated in NAfME’s virtual Hill Week. Traditionally, AMEA’s leadership has traveled to Washington, D.C. in June each summer to meet with Alabama’s Members of Congress. However, because of the pandemic, since 2020 we have had to opt for meeting with Congressional and Senate offices via Zoom. This year we had two productive meetings with staff from Rep. Mike Rogers and Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s offices.

We highlighted real-life examples of how Title funds have been used in Alabama to provide music education to our students. Title I money is being used to reduce class sizes and pay music teaching salaries.  We emphasized how Title II provides money for quality professional development for all our teachers to help our students and aide with teacher burnout and attrition. In addition, we discussed the arts deserts in Alabama and how Title IV money could be used to place music programs in schools that have traditionally had limited or no access to music education. As we continue to rebuild our programs after the pandemic, it is imperative that we ask for ESSA to be fully funded. We presented a clear and concise message that fully funding Title programs will open the door for music education to be in the lives of every Alabama student.

Thank you to Dr. Sarah Burns of Jacksonville State University, Dr. Becky Halliday of the University of Montevallo, and Dr. Megan Merciers of the University of North Alabama for joining me to advocate for music education.

AMEA Fall 2022 Town Hall

When the pandemic began in March of 2020, AMEA’s leadership sprung to action by hosting weekly Town Halls. I have heard from many people how much they valued the time we came together and talked about the possibilities and future we were facing. Personally, I valued the connection we were able to foster in uncertain times. As our world has returned to pre-pandemic busyness, it’s not feasible to have weekly Town Hall meetings. However, I feel we could have Town Hall meetings each semester.

I’m pleased to announce that AMEA will host a Town Hall meeting Monday, November 14 at 6:30 pm via Zoom. As we move closer to the event, we will send instructions on how to join via email and social media. I hope continuing the Town Hall meetings will allow us to feel more connected and informed of what is going on in our state.

Presidential Fireside Chat

Over the next few months, I will host fireside chats with different groups within AMEA. The focus of these fireside chats is to listen to your experiences to see how AMEA can best serve our members. The first two fireside chats will focus on our early career music educators. I have thought back on my own early teaching experiences throughout the pandemic. I have wondered how my career would be different if I dealt with social distancing, COVID, and mitigation techniques in my early years of teaching.

The first Presidential Fireside chat will be Monday, November 7 at 6:30 pm via Zoom. The focus of this Fireside Chat will be on AMEA members with 5-10 years of teaching experience.

The second Presidential Fireside Chat will be Monday, December 12 at 6:30 pm via Zoom. The focus of this Fireside Chat will be on AMEA members in their first year of teaching to 4 years of teaching experience. AMEA will send information on how to sign up for each Fireside Chat closer to each of the dates. Watch your email and social media for more information.

Conference 2023

Finally, we have been planning for our annual Professional Development Conference! I look forward to being with all of you in January. The Professional Development Conference is good for my soul, recharges my batteries, and allows me to be with like-minded people.  I’m excited that we will have NAfME President-elect Dr. Deb Confredo as our keynote speaker for several sessions and we will have a musical performance by The Dill Pickers from Birmingham. There will be fantastic concerts, inspiring sessions, exhibits, and a chance to catch up with old friends. Make plans to be in Birmingham January 19 – 21, 2022.

I hope you have a wonderful fall full of music-making! Remember to take a little time to enjoy the beauty, savor each day full of color and cool air, and reflect on how incredibly fortunate we are to make music every day with students. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you in any way.