Shelly Cole

Shelly Cole has been a professional educator for 28 years, serving as the Director of Choirs at Piper High School for 23 years.  At Piper High School, Cole  directs three performing ensembles (Concert, Choir, Bella Voce, and Music-n-Motion) and teaches Road to Rock.  Under her direction, the choirs have received superior ratings at regional and state festivals and have been featured as the opening act for countless shows in Branson, Missouri.

Cole received her Bachelor of  Music Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Masters of Education from Baker University.  Cole started her career teaching pre-K-12 vocal/instrumental music in Rising City, Nebraska then moved to her hometown of Goodland, KS and was the 7-12 director of choirs for three years before moving to the Piper School District in 2000.  Cole has recently been accepted to serve as a National  CAN (Connected Arts Network) PLC member. CAN is led by National Arts Teacher Leaders, the initiative prioritizes equity, diversity, inclusion, social and emotional learning, and teacher leadership in the arts.

Cole started Tri-M Chapter #5682 at Piper High School in 2008.  Since its inception, the chapter has been awarded the KMEA State Chapter of the Year 5 times and is the current KMEA Kansas Chapter of the year.  Chapter #5682 has also been awarded the NAfME Chapter of the Year in 2011-2012 and has been recognized as the NAfME Kansas Chapter of the year 2023-2024.  Cole  is an active member of KMEA serving as the Kansas Tri-M Chapter Advisor since 2018.  Shelly currently serves as the Chair of the KMEA Retention and Recruitment Committee.  Most recently, Cole has accepted the position as NAFME  Tri-M Advisory Council, Southwestern Division Representative. (2024-2026)