NAfME BLOG
Back to School with NAfME
Top Resources to Kickstart Your Back-to-School Season
Explore our highlighted back-to-school resources below to support your year ahead. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or embarking on your first year as a teacher, we’ve got you covered with helpful tools and information. NAfME is here to listen, support, and help in any way we can. Contact memberservices@nafme.org with any questions about your membership or NAfME resources.
Thank you for being a part of NAfME. We wish you a successful and fulfilling year ahead!
What’s included in this post?
Explore the featured resources below by clicking on each section. More NAfME Back to School resources will be added here in the coming weeks!
Highlighted Back-to-School and First-Year Teacher Resources
From innovative teaching strategies to organization tips, these curated articles, webinars, and blog posts from NAfME members will set you up for an exciting school year!
Featured NAfME Membership Resources
As a member of NAfME you have access to a number of exclusive resources. Make sure your membership is up to date—join or renew today!
Professional Learning Events and Resources
Our comprehensive collection of webinars and research publications will help you earn contact hours and stay at the forefront of music education trends and methodologies. Browse the NAfME event calendar to find upcoming events hosted by NAfME, State Music Education Associations (MEAs), and industry partners that match your interests, searchable by type and date.
Learn how NAfME advocates for music education at the national level and equips you to be an advocate at the federal, state, and local levels. Find resources to be an advocate for your profession.
Equity in music education is the keystone of NAfME’s Strategic Plan. Find academic articles, blogs, webinars, and more that address Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access in the music education classroom.
NAfME offers six publications for all members at all teaching levels and in all areas.
Highlighted Back-to-School and First-Year Teacher Resources
Back-to-School Resources
- Announcement: Music In Our Schools Month® 2026—We remain United Through Music! This school year we will continue the theme of “United Through Music” with new resources and shareable graphics to come. Meanwhile, lesson plans and more from last school year are available for your use this school year—including ideas and tips and six lesson plans from the NAfME Council for General Music Education! Keep checking back for updates.
- Resource: “Two Documentary Films and Lesson Plans: Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius and Awadagin Pratt: Black in America.” Read the interview with the creators, Michelle Bauer Carpenter, Mark Rabideau, and Suzanne Hall. (Special thanks to College Music Society.)
- Article: “Preparing for Places, Paraphernalia, Practicalities, Processes, and People” by Deb Confredo (SBO+ Magazine, September 2024)
- Article: “How do you set up your teaching space to be a welcoming place for ALL students?” (Teaching Music, August 2025)—coming soon
- Article: “A Sampling of Beginning of the Year Assessment Practices” (Teaching Music, August 2024)
- Article: “Teacher to Teacher: Tips for Getting the School Year Off to a Great Start” (Teaching Music, August 2023)
- Article: “What is the Most Important Thing You Want Your Students to Learn from You?” by Adam DeVault (Teaching Music, January 2024)
- Webinar: It Has to Play! Instrument Repair for Directors: Brass (NAfME Academy login required; contact hours available)
- Webinar: It Has to Play! Instrument Repair for Directors: Woodwinds (NAfME Academy login required; contact hours available)
- Webinar: Music-Driven Classroom Management Strategies for Elementary Presented by Anthony Molinaro (NAfME Academy login required; contact hours available)
- Blog: “Back-to-School Music Rituals to Boost Positive Classroom Culture” from NAfME Corporate member Kindermusik
- Blog: “Using Technology to Enhance Your School Concert” by Peter J. Perry, D.M.A.
- Blog: “Keys to Elevating the Small School Music Program” by Richard Tengowski
- Blog: “Meet the Parents” by Lori Schwartz Reichl
- Blog: “Organization Tips for the First Days of School” by Meghan Cabral
- Blog: “Teaching Intonation to Beginning Musicians” by Gregory Ristow and Leah Sheldon
Find more back-to-school related resources in the NAfME Resource Library and the NAfME Blog.
First-Year Teacher Resources
- Webinar: Your First Year: A Panel of First-Year Teachers Collegiate Chat
- Webinar: 2025 Praxis Practice: Prepare to Pass!
- Webinar: Necessities for Newbies: What We Can Do to Help New Music Teachers Be Successful Presented by Scott Burgener and Christopher Moseley
- Webinar: Dear New Music Teacher Presented by Elizabeth Ann McAnally (NAfME Academy login required; contact hours available)
- Article: “You Are Not Alone! Tips for New Teachers in Small Schools” (Teaching Music, October 2023)
- Blog: “The Key to a Successful First Year” by Marissa Guarriello
- Blog: “Being the ‘New Teacher’: Making a Smooth Transition” by Kevin Coker
- Blog: “Professionalism in Teaching” by Lori Schwartz Reichl
- Blog: “The Sunshine File” by Corin T. Overland
- Blog: “If I Could Turn Back Time: A Letter to My Younger Self” by Lori Schwartz Reichl and Neil Anderson
Find more back-to-school related resources in the NAfME Resource Library and the NAfME Blog.
NAfME Membership Resources
- Meet your fellow members! Get to know fellow NAfME members from around the country—and submit your own story, why you love teaching, best practices, and/or why you believe we must advocate for music education: Submit your story here.
- Music Education Mentorship: The NAfME Music Teacher Profession Advisory Committee (MTPAC) solicited the state music education association mentoring information as part of the ongoing work to implement the strategies in A Blueprint to Strengthen the Music Teacher Profession. This information will be regularly updated with new state MEA information as it becomes available.
- Join or Renew your NAfME Membership
- Thank you to our NAfME Corporate Members for your dedication to and support of music educators.
- Collegiate Opportunities
- NAfME Collegiate Chapter Leadership Training September 4 (virtual)
- NAfME Collegiate Kickoff Week September 22-26, and Membership Rally September 24 (virtual)
- Find Collegiate Chapter Materials like the Quickstart Guide and social media graphics on this page.
- Collegiate members could be recognized for professional achievement and eligible for the Shannon Kelly Kane Scholarship—learn more.
- Middle/Junior High and High School Opportunities
- Start or Renew your Tri-M Music Honor Society chapter
- The chapter setup guide has everything you need from guidance to elect/appoint officers and create bylaws to a sample membership application and sample induction ceremony with the Tri-M loyalty song.
- Get service project ideas for your chapter.
- Your chapter could be selected for recognition and a scholarship for your school’s chapter.
- Don’t forget t-shirts, Tri-M banner, and more—shop Tri-M merchandise.
- Check out the NEW NAfME Career Center—and add your profile!
- Connect with your State Music Education Association (MEA).
- Learn about NAfME Societies and Councils, including leadership opportunities, learning, and networking.
- Catch up with colleagues on AMPLIFY, the online community exclusively for NAfME members. And stay tuned for updates to the community this school year!
Professional Learning Events and Resources
- Guiding Principles, Frameworks, and Applications for AI in Music Education (published July 29, 2025)
- August 12: “Music Industry and Music Education Working Together to Meet New Challenges,” a NAfME/NAMM webinar
- September 9: Town Hall: General Music Teachers’ Back-to-School Inspiration and Ideas
- October 23–25: Symposium on Music Teacher Education, “Advancing an Inclusive Community: Renew, Reinvigorate, Recharge”
- November 15: Inaugural Virtual Symposium on Music Education and Students with Disabilities and/or Living in Poverty
- 2026 Biennial NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education Conference September 30–October 3, Long Beach, CA (more information to come)
- Sing Democracy 250: Register your high school, college, and/or community choir to take part in this nationwide performance series to receive free sheet music and more. Deadline October 31, 2025.
- NAfME Professional Learning Webinars: Earn contact hours! Live one-hour virtual events featuring music education experts from all teaching levels and areas, scheduled regularly August through May.
- NAfME Academy: Earn more contact hours! Enroll in 250+ music education professional development webinars and track your contact hours on demand. (Subscription required—free for members, $125/annually for nonmembers.)
Recently added to the NAfME Academy:
- Access and Advocacy
- Hip Hop, Neurodivergence, and the Music Classroom: A New Groove
- Supporting Language Acquisition in the Music Classroom
- Engaging All Learners in the Accessible Music Classroom
- Supporting Students with Disabilities
- Inclusion within the Multilingual Music Classroom
- Music Teachers, Music Therapists, and Professors, Working Together for Children
- Amplifying Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Music Educators
- General Music
- Creative Endeavors in Elementary Music
- Games & Play to Teach Musical Literacy in PreK and Elementary Music
- Dalcroze Strategies for Elementary Classrooms
- General Music Curriculum Design: Using the Same Repertoire for Many Purposes
- Gamifying the Music Classroom
- Ensembles
- Rhythm and Percussion with Hand Signs
- Creating Neurodiverse Ensembles
- Collaborative Ensemble Rehearsals: Tools for Inquiry-Based Learning
- Breaking the Silence: The Experiences of Female Band Directors
- Integrating Modern Band into School Ensembles: Best Practices
- Putting the FUN in Saxophone FUNdamentals
- Tools for Jazz Directors: From Beginning to Advanced Rehearsal Techniques
- Cultivating Classroom Community
- Curriculum & Instruction
- Culturally Responsive Teaching for Native Music Curriculum
- Designing Culturally Responsive Music Instruction
- Teaching Music-Teaching Culture
- Joyful Learning with Project Based Music Technology
- Career Development and Self-Care
- Strong Finish, Fresh Start: End-of-Year Strategies to Support Music Educators
- Writing for Music Educators Journal
- Breathwork for Educators and Their Students
- Tips for a Successful Job Search: Starting with the End in Mind
Plus many more in the categories of Guitar, Composition, Research, Music Program Leaders, Music Teacher Education, Small Schools, Advocacy, and Innovations.
The NAfME Academy now contains more than 250 courses related to all areas of music education, allowing members to earn professional development contact hours on demand. Learn more about subscribing to the Academy, a free benefit of membership in NAfME.
Register for a live webinar this fall! View the schedule here.
Advocacy Resources
- Arts Education Alliance: Take part in current advocacy campaigns and learn how federal funding supports your music program.
- Advocacy Bulletin Blog: Keep up to date with the latest news and action items.
- Local Advocacy Action Plan: Resources to help you advocate for funding and opportunities to support your music program.
- Grassroots Action Center via Quorum: Find your representatives and get updates on legislation affecting music and arts education.
- Civic Action Field Guide: Understand the process behind how public education is governed and funded.
- Title IV-A Toolkit: Everything you need to know about Title IV-A, also known as the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant.
Equity in Music Education
- Equity Resource Center: The NAfME Equity Resource Center is a collection of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging (DEIAB) resources to support our members in their continuing efforts to make DEIAB actionable in the music education profession. Selections for the resource center include webinars, blogs, journal articles, personal stories, and frequently asked questions.
- Music Teacher Profession Initiative: Read the findings and recommendations of a national task force to identify barriers to equity in music teacher recruitment, education, and retention.
- Divisive Concepts and Music Education: Quantitative Follow-Up Study: Information on divisive concepts laws in the music classroom, including resources to assist music educators in navigating state laws and regulations.
- Small Schools Initiative: Learn how a NAfME task force plans to address the unique needs of teachers in small, often rural, schools.
Publications and Research
- NAfME Books: NAfME publishes books on all aspects of music education. Current members receive 30% off book purchases from Bloomsbury Books.
- Teaching Music Magazine: Look for fresh ideas for your music program in the August 2025 issue:
- Promoting Mental Health through Music: Practical Applications for the Ensemble Rehearsal
- Toward Better Intonation: Teaching Sympathetic Vibrations in the String Class
- Using Flow to Build Connection, Motivation, and Community
- Unplugged and Engaged: The Making of a High School Guitar Class
- Prepare, Present, and Practice: Developing Conceptual Understanding and Musical Independence through Method Books
- Tuning Made Easy: Developing an Intonation Curriculum for Your Band
- Motivate Musicians and Instill Student Agency with Unison-Based Music
- NAfME Journals: Find peer-reviewed articles for your teaching specialty in Music Educators Journal, Journal of General Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Research in Music Education, and Journal of Music Teacher Education
Benefits and resources are subject to change.
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