On June 19, members of MENC’s National Leadership Assembly traveled to Capitol Hill for an arts advocacy briefing in the Capitol Visitors Center. The briefing took place during MENC’s Music Education Week in Washington.
Members of MENC’s National Leadership Assembly head to an advocacy briefing on Capitol Hill.
MENC public policy staff arranged briefings by a number of key arts education and arts policy leaders on the issues of strengthening arts education in schools and retaining arts in the definition of core academic subjects of learning.
In addition, speakers discussed the importance of keeping arts advocacy issues before officials on the local and state level as well.
Daniel A. Domenech of the American Association of School Administrators addressed the MENC National Assembly.
The speakers were:
- Lee Coco, senior policy advisor for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators
- Randall Moody, manager of federal advocacy in the government relations department for the National Education Association
- Susan Sweat, legislative director for Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi
- Claus Von Zastrow, executive director of the Learning First Alliance
Assembly members were attentive during the briefing.
Prior to the briefing, MENC’s National Leadership Assembly conducted legislative visits on Capitol Hill. The state leaders discussed with their elected officials and their aides the need to keep music programs in schools, and noted that MENC presented more than 120,000 signatures supporting this position to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the Rally for Music Education during Music Education Week.
Photos by Becky Spray
—Roz Fehr, June 23, 2009. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
