Webinar: Advocating for Federal Funds in the Small School Setting

Advocacy in a small school setting can offer music educators unique opportunities to create meaningful choices and changes for their students and communities. Join us to discover how to leverage federal funds to enhance music education programs in small schools. Additionally, attendees will learn how to identify funding opportunities, explore real-world examples of advocacy involving funding requests, and apply effective strategies. Attendees will curate actionable steps that can be used immediately to implement successful advocacy efforts in their schools and communities.

A native of Ashe County, North Carolina, James G. Daugherty has most recently served as the Arts Education and a Digital Learning Specialist for the Davidson County (NC) Schools and is the Director of Cannon Music Camp at Appalachian State University.  Prior to these appointments in 2015, he served for 21 years as Band Director and Instructor of Music Theory at Central Davidson High School in Lexington, North Carolina, assisting daily with band instruction at Central Davidson Middle School. In 2024 he completed his 34th summer on the faculty of Cannon Music Camp, previously having served as the Dean of Men for 21 years.

Jazzmone Sutton has served as the Senior Manager for State Advocacy and Equity at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) since July 2021. Before joining the NAfME staff, she was a passionate elementary music educator and advocate based in North Carolina and served as the North Carolina Music Educators Association President. As State Advocacy Engagement Manager, Sutton works to strengthen the connection between our state affiliates, their members, and educational stakeholders via proactive advocacy work.

NAfME presents this live virtual event at no charge to all as a service to the music education profession. To register, you must enter your NAfME member information or create a nonmember account. After registering, check your email for instructions. A recording of this program will be available to all registrants for one week following the live event. Members can also view archived NAfME webinars in the NAfME Academy. The views expressed are those of the presenter; they do not necessarily reflect the views of NAfME.