(For The New Reality)
FREE Online PD from NAfME
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating many Music Education Associations (MEAs) cancel conferences, NAfME has made over 100 hours of FREE Online PD available to EVERYONE! Webinars and journal articles are easily accessible 24/7!
The following professional development resources have been made available for free:
- 10 webinars from NAfME Academy.
- 104 Music Educators Journal featured articles are complete with a brief quiz.
All NAfME professional development is peer-reviewed and specifically developed for music educators by music educators.
Upon successful completion of the article/quiz and accompanying quiz (75% or higher), you earn a certificate of completion valued at “one contact hour.”
Please contact JJ Norman, [email protected], with any questions you may have.
For more information, visit Free professional development clock hours on the NAfME website.
Virtual Learning Resources for Music Educators – Ideas from NAfME Members for Fellow Music Educators
To assist NAfME members with the current challenges of teaching and pursuing professional development virtually, members of NAfME Societies and Councils have provided a list of Virtual Learning Resources from their own original teaching experiences, music educators in their school districts, universities, communities, peers or other trusted sources. We thank them for their assistance and commitment to NAfME members as we all pull together to keep educating and making music.
Additionally, starting with 2 webinars this Thursday afternoon and evening (March 26), NAfME will host regular Professional Learning Community webinars on various topics:
Register now for free Professional Learning Community webinars
- March 26, 2 PM ET: Teaching Students with Disabilities during COVID-19 with Alice Hammel
- March 26, 8:30 PM ET: Music Education and SEL during COVID-19 with Scott Edgar
- March 27, 3:45 PM ET: Online Teaching . . . Where Do I Even Start?! with Anne Fennell
- March 30, 4:00 PM ET: Online Learning and Copyright for Music Educators with John Mlynczak
- March 31, 12:00 PM ET: Strategies for Thriving as a Music Teacher during Uncertain Times with Lesley Moffat, Dana Varona, & Christa Kuebel
- Past NAfME/NAMM Foundation webinar: Bridging the Gap: Teaching and Learning Music Online
The resource page will be updated regularly. Please let music educators know about these resources!
Zoom Removes 40-Minute Time Limit for K-12 Schools
Zoom is temporarily lifting the 40-minute time limit on free Basic accounts for schools affected by COVID-19. Click Here to request this offer.
They’ve also created a page of Zoom tips and COVID-19 Resources that can be useful for people unfamiliar with virtual meetings.
NC Symphony Education Concert
During this unprecedented time, students need access to the arts more than ever—and at the Symphony, our music education mission remains constant. To that end, we are excited to release a digital broadcast of a North Carolina Symphony Education Concert and its companion materials, for students, teachers, parents, and audiences of all ages to access and enjoy free of charge across North Carolina and worldwide.
We invite you to use and share this online content with your students, their parents, and anyone who may benefit from it.
The materials may be accessed here: ncsymphony.org/virtual
Password: 1932
Our video stars the North Carolina Symphony’s professional musicians and Music Director Grant Llewellyn performing music by Beethoven, Brahms, William Grant Still, and more. Along the way, Associate Conductor Wesley Schulz takes students on a journey to learn “What Makes Music, Music,” exploring fundamentals such as melody, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, and texture. Wesley guides students on how to actively listen and participate as they watch the orchestra perform.
As you know, our accompanying Student Book (also available at ncsymphony.org/virtual) coordinates with the music and topics covered in our Education Concert. The book introduces each composer, and shares fun facts about their life and their music.
These materials were developed by the North Carolina Symphony in close partnership with our state’s music educators—like you! The concepts taught in the video and in the Student Book align with the state curriculum for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (This said, we welcome anyone and everyone to watch, listen, learn, and enjoy!)
Our Education Concert is created in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and is made possible by a generous grant-in-aid from the State of North Carolina, the Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor; the Honorable Susi H. Hamilton, Secretary for Natural and Cultural Resources.
We admire the extraordinary efforts of teachers and parents in carrying forward the education of our youth during this time, and are honored to play our part to support you.
Please stay tuned to ncsymphony.org and to our social media channels for curriculum-aligned music education lesson plans, tailored for individual, at-home instruction—coming soon!
Arts Instructional Resources
Compiled by the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (agencies like our NCDPI). This national organization has collected information from all the states and consolidated them to one easy site for constituents to share with people inquiring about arts education during this time. Please share as appropriate.
“The arts education community is working to build a repository of instructional resources for the field. The links within this page continue to be updated. If you have a resource which may be helpful to enriching arts instruction virtually, please contribute to the online site with your ideas here.”
For questions about this site, please contact Julie Palkowski, SEADAE Wisconsin Member.
COVID-19 Updates & More Resources
There’s a trove of information available related to COVID-19. With your phone:
- Text COVIDNC to 898211 to get alerts about Coronavirus updates in NC.
- Dial 2-1-1 or 888-892-1162 for COVID-19 questions.
In the links below you’ll find news from the World Health Organization (WHO) and guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the NC Department of Health and Human Services. There’s even information related to music instrument hygiene. Also, our friends at Arts NC have created a hub for all Arts COVID19 Relief Funds.
- NAfME COVID-19 Resource and News page
- NC Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Response
- Contact your local NC Health Department
- Arts NC COVID19 Resource Page – Search for relief funds in your area by county, either to donate or request assistance.
- Americans for the Arts COVID19 Arts & Culture Financial Impact Survey – Please complete the five-minute survey.
Free Stuff
Free In Tune Monthly Subscription
NAfME-member middle and high school music teachers can now access In Tune Monthly magazine’s digital edition for their students at no additional cost.
Share this link with your students to give them free access to In Tune Monthly’s latest issue. You’ll also find an archive of previous issues from the 2017-18 school year:
https://www.intunemonthly.com/nafme-free-subscriptions/
To view recent issues, click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner of the screen, then select “Archive.”
As a NAfME member, you can click here for free online lesson plans from the 2017-18 school year.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please contact us at [email protected] or 914-358-1200, ext. 310 for assistance.
Free E-Course – 10 Black Sacred Songs Every American Should Know
This is a FREE resource to celebrate Black History Month, or any month for that matter.
- FREE E-Course
- Great K-12 Teaching Tips
- Online Audio and Video Links
Return to the Top PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
2020 VSA International Young Soloists Competition
Each year outstanding young musicians with disabilities from around the world receive the VSA International Young Soloists Award, $2,000, and the opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., which is live-streamed and archived on the Kennedy Center website. This program is open to soloists and ensembles of any instrument or genre!
All genres of music are accepted, including but not limited to classical, jazz, hip-hop, rap, rock/alt rock, pop, indie, bluegrass, folk, country, R&B/blues, Latin, and world. All instruments, including voice, are accepted.
Deadline: The application deadline is Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
*PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES COMPLETELY BEFORE BEGINNING THE APPLICATION PROCESS*
More information on 2020 VSA International Young Soloists Competition.
Calling all marching bands!!
Join us for the 73rd North Carolina Azalea Festival Parade on Saturday, April 4, 2020 from 9:30am to 11:30am in historic downtown Wilmington, NC. All school Marching Bands are free to enter and a $500 travel reimbursement is provided for out of town bands. Applications are available online through the Azalea Festival’s website at www.ncazaleafestival.org.
You can also reach out to Meg Tadlock at 910.794.3103.
To promote performance opportunities, please contact Pat Hall at [email protected].
GRANTS/AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
Governor’s Educator Discovery Awards
The Governor’s Educator Discovery Awards recognize the value of quality professional development for teachers at all phases of their careers. The program will provide a stipend of up to $1,000 for pre K-12 traditional public and public charter school teachers to pursue a professional development experience of their choosing. Teachers can use the grant award to attend a workshop or conference that deepens their subject area knowledge, such as a coding workshop for computer science teachers, or a session on how to create a project-based learning experience for students. Applicants need to describe how their participation in the professional development experience will enhance their efforts to create a work-based learning activity for their students. The program aims to hand out six to 12 awards during the 2018-19 school year.
To be eligible for the Governor’s Educator Discovery Awards, North Carolina public and public charter school teachers must submit a proposal that includes details about their teaching experience and the professional development activity they wish to pursue. Applicants also need to describe how their participation in the professional development experience will enhance their efforts to create a work-based learning activity for their students. Click here to apply.
Upcoming Application Deadline: March 1, 2020
Statewide Grants
- Foundation for the Carolinas
- North Carolina Community Foundation
- Mary Duke Biddle Foundation
- Insperity Corporate Program
- Duke Energy Foundation
- NC Bright Ideas
- Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
The Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship
The Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship is available to individuals currently enrolled in Music Education or Elementary Education degree programs at a recognized college or university in North Carolina. Applicants need not be members of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. The application process is competitive.
The NC DKG Educational Foundation may award up to five $3,000 scholarships in 2020. Applications for the Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship are due March 15, 2020.
Don’t hesitate to contact Connie Phifer Savell with any questions or concerns at:
206 North Roxford Road
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
704-477-0450
[email protected].
Regional/Community Grants
- Burke County
Community Foundation of Burke County - Davie County
Community Foundation of Davie County - Charlotte Area
Blumenthal Foundation - Forsyth, Wintson-Salem Area
John W. & Ann H. Hanes Foundation - Guilford County
- Henderson County
Community Foundation of Henderson - Salisbury and Rowan County
The Blanche & Julian Robertson Family Foundation - Western North Carolina
Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
(Serving Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Heywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mcdowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania & Yancey counties)
Equipment Grants
Drums for Drummers
Carl Stewart’s Drums for Drummers is a non-profit corporation established in 2014 to enable students in underfunded schools to have access to a drum set.
We acquire donated drums from private sellers, as well as corporate donations from drum manufacturers, cymbal makers, and hardware manufacturers. We take donated drum sets, fix them up, replace any missing parts, put new Remo drumheads on and tune them. The completed drum kits are placed into youth programs, elementary, junior high and high schools with music programs in underfunded school districts.
We are located in Southern California and access donors from all over the US. We connect drum set donors with schools close to the donors location. The requirements for a school to receive a drum set are on our website Drums for Drummers.
If you know of a school that could use a drum set but can’t afford one please contact us via our website www.DrumsForDrummers.org or call 949-689-5364.
Check out our Drums For Drummers Facebook page for our latest drum donations and school placements.
Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Grants
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation is a non-profit that supports instrumental music education programs by providing instrument grants to schools in need. They want to support instrumental music programs in North Carolina through their disaster relief program, Music Rising. Music Rising helps replace instruments in schools affected by devastating events, such as hurricanes and wild fires.
If there are schools in your community that have lost instruments as a result of Hurricane Florence that will not be replaced via insurance and/or FEMA (a Music Rising requirement), please contact Dan Pessalano and/or encourage music teachers to contact him directly. Additionally, share this note and Mr. Pessalano’s contact information with any other party who may be aware of schools that should be considered for Music Rising assistance.
Dan Pessalano
Program Officer
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation
818-762-4328
[email protected]
Other Grants
- The Mockingbird Foundation
- The NEA Foundation
- North Carolina Arts Council
- Wal-Mart Local Giving Program
To promote music-related grants & awards, please contact Pat Hall at [email protected].
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Free Popular Music Pedagogy Workshop at ECU
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Forget Winter, Start Planning Your Summer with Carnegie Hall
Special Offer for Early Registration
Registration is now open for Carnegie Hall’s Summer Music Educators Workshop. This July, reinvigorate your students’ creativity, build a community of peers, and invest in your own artistry. Choose from two unique sessions and bring new life to your music classroom.
Workshops are only $75 for the first 75 people to register. Take advantage of early pricing and register today.
Traveling from far away? Financial assistance is available for qualifying individuals to cover travel and lodging.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Many of us have been discussing ACEs and the implications for work within Arts Education settings and projects. These are Adverse Childhood Experiences that impact not only the success of programming and student participation and achievement, but also have demonstrated effects on adult health and behavior. The arts offer unique opportunities for interventions, expression, and also opportunities for community discussion.
If you are unfamiliar with this research and how it may affect the success of the work that you do, please take a look at the resources below.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
– Definition, studies, resources
Understanding Trauma-Informed Education
– The principal of an internationally recognized trauma-informed school explains what this form of education is—and what it isn’t.