Resistance to pull out lessons

[nafmeadmin]

On another note, several of the 4th and 5th grade teachers are strongly opposed to the music program as it pulls kids out of class for 45 minutes 2-3 times a month on a rotating time slot. I send my lesson schedule along with an invitation to discuss concerns or questions with me each week to teachers, but have not received any responses. I have also let teachers know that their students can miss a lesson if they have a test to take, but the student must let me know so the lesson can be rescheduled. Additionally, I have studied the common core for each grade level and have asked teachers to send me a general idea of what they are teaching when so I can incorporate their materials into my lesson ( ie. doing an Erie Canal song for NYS, slave songs for NYS history, story telling, character traits translated into musical terminology and technique, etc). I have heard zero responses and assumed that things were okay. I recently found out several teacher have reached out to parents telling them to pull their kids from orchestra and band or else their children would fail their tests and classes. I’m unsure about how to approach this problem and I do not think I have a sympathetic principal.

What can I do to advocate for my music program in this situation? How can I approach this situation in a way that will inspire progress instead of petty arguments? Is there anything else I can do to make my classroom more transparent?

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