Celebrate 40 Years of MIOSM!

Name: Celebrate 40 Years of MIOSM!
Start: 2025-03-12T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-03-12T20:30:00-04:00

About the Event

To celebrate Music In Our Schools Month^® 2025, NAfME will host a virtual gathering to highlight 40 years of Music In Our Schools Month observances and the importance of continued advocacy for music education. The virtual event will be held on March 12 from 7:00-8:30 PM ET. Please join us to celebrate 40 years of MIOSM^® and hear from educators, advocates, and the broader community on how music education has changed their lives!

Hear from Georgia Teacher of the Year Christy Todd, along with Cassidy Boeckermann and Gavin Banick.

Christy Todd

Named a 2024 National Teacher of the Year Finalist, Christy Todd believes that every child has a creative superpower.

As the 2024 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Christy traveled thousands of miles delivering over 150 keynotes to teachers, leaders, elected officials, and community stakeholders about the importance of building connections to support public school education. She shares stories of her work as a middle school music technology teacher in Fayette County Public Schools, where she launched Hall Pass Entertainment—a recording label that distributes original student songs, podcasts, video games, short films, audio books and more across major streaming platforms. Passionate about building opportunities for all kids to create, Christy also founded a special music collaboration between fine arts and special education classrooms that has impacted more than 10,000 students over the past 15 years.

Prior to teaching, Todd worked in business development in the nonprofit sector and draws from that experience to build connections between students, colleagues, families and communities. She began her teaching career as a chorus director and still actively conducts honor choirs, along with publishing articles and research for various state, national and international education journals.

Todd currently works at the Georgia Department of Education as an Education Program Specialist in the Office of Teaching and Learning. She is also an adjunct music instructor at Southern Crescent Technical College and continues to support Hall Pass Entertainment in an advisory capacity. She received a Bachelor of Music Education from Shorter College and a Master of Music Education from Florida State University.