March 2019 Marks the 34th Music In Our Schools Month®

This school year’s MIOSM^TM theme is “All Music. All People.”
and focuses on bringing all kinds of music to all students.

 

For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherina Hurlburt at NAfME
catherinah@nafme.org or (703) 860-4000  

RESTON, VA (February 28, 2019)—This March, the voices and instruments of music students will fill the halls and public spaces of communities around the country, as music educators showcase their programs for parents, administrators, elected officials, and the general public, demonstrating the inherent value of music in the lives of all students. The variety of music performed in the classroom and in school auditoriums is more diverse than it has ever been, as music educators endeavor to reach all students from myriad backgrounds with all kinds of music.

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) recognizes March as the thirty-fourth annual Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM^TM). Since 1985, MIOSM has been observed as a yearly month-long celebration when schools and communities celebrate music in their local schools and the educators who dedicate themselves to bringing music into the lives of students every day. This year the NAfME Council for General Music Education has provided teachers resources to show the learning process throughout the whole school year, and for the first time observance of MIOSM was encouraged in the fall and the spring.

“This year’s Music In Our Schools Month theme is ‘All Music. All People.’ Every day, in classrooms and rehearsal rooms across the United States, music educators dedicate themselves to reaching all students with music,” said Michael J. Blakeslee, NAfME Executive Director and CEO. “What parents, administrators, and the wider community have not always had the opportunity to observe, however, is the months of practice and rehearsals, and the process of learning that takes place in the music classroom and on the stage.”

“This year MIOSM has been an opportunity for music educators to show that process through ‘informances’—showcasing the students at various learning stages—before the performances at the end of that process.”

“And so, this year MIOSM has been an opportunity for music educators to show that process through ‘informances’—showcasing the students at various learning stages—before the performances at the end of that process,” Blakeslee added. “This is a wonderful opportunity for students to demonstrate their growth and learning in the music classroom—and for educators to show the incredible work they are doing in their music programs. To those music program leaders, superintendents, school boards, parents, and local businesses supporting their own schools’ music programs, we applaud you for supporting the difference music makes for all students, our future leaders.”

 

NAfME encourages teachers to share on social media how their schools are celebrating music education, using the hashtags #AllMusicAllPeople and #MIOSM and tagging “@NAfME”.

This year NAfME has provided MIOSM lesson plans for nine songs, including resources from the Library of Congress, instructional goals and objectives, connections to the National Core Arts Standards learned in each lesson, worksheets, and more. Additionally, music educators can join in the “biggest school chorus in the world” with American Young Voices, which has provided lesson plans, teaching aims and objectives, sheet music, vocal tracks, and more for the song “Maliswe.” NAfME has also provided classroom materials for MIOSM that teachers can share with their students as they celebrate “All Music. All People.” in their classrooms and schools. All of these items are available at https://nafme.org/MIOSM.

Meanwhile, state music education associations are conducting their own advocacy days this spring in state capitals to support music education for all students. Ensembles are performing for elected officials at their state capitols and in local communities to demonstrate the importance of music education. NAfME will host a free webinar March 13, 7:30 PM EDT, during which attendees will hear about state advocacy success stories. Learn more at http://bit.ly/NAfME2019Q1advocacywebinar.

Music In Our Schools Month® and MIOSM^TM are trademarks of NAfME, and may not be used for fundraising or materials produced for profit.

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National Association for Music Education, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century. With more than 60,000 members teaching millions of students nationwide, the organization is the national voice for music education in the United States.

Follow NAfME on Twitter (twitter.com/nafme) and on Facebook (facebook.com/nafme).
For additional information, contact Catherina Hurlburt at catherinah@nafme.org or 703-860-4000, ext. 216.