-Attend school board meetings. Making yourself visible and showing interest is never a bad
thing
-Ask your Superintendent if you can have a small group of students perform at a school board
meeting–perhaps centered around a “board appreciation dinner,” etc. This works well at Holiday
times too.
-Invite your Superintendent and principal(s) into your classroom for important events–guest
speakers, clinicians, etc. Invite them to festival, concerts, musicals, etc…and perhaps even have
them play a part on a concert. Personal invitations (either from you or the students) work well!
-Utilize your booster group–parents are one of your best advocates! Encourage them to talk to
school board members about the success of your program. Be careful, however–you don’t want
your booster group to grow larger in scope than intended.
-Utilize your students–they are the BEST advocates for arts education. Community events
where your students can perform/participate are great. Be active in community service–toys for
tots, nursing homes, leaf clean-ups, etc. Making $ for the program doesn’t always have to be the
goal–just getting the kids out into the community can be highly beneficial.
-Advocate for yourself. Music teachers are notorious for staying in their rooms, planning
amazing concerts and activities, and then not telling anyone how great things went. Write an
article in your district/building newsletter, maintain a website, include information about student
success on the daily announcements, etc etc etc.
-Tell people how your program helps to meet the elementary arts education state standards (or
whatever standards are pertinent)
-Think about dollar per student and return on investment? What is the current investment in your
program and how many students are you serving?
-Check out the NAfME Advocacy Bulletin Blog. There are GREAT tips here!
-Enlist the help of parents whose students have benefitted from music classes, to bolster your
case. Parent-advocates can be strong voices for your program. Be careful not to go too far with
this one, as too much parent advocacy could turn a supportive building principal against you if
they begin to feel too much heat.
-Don’t get discouraged! Advocacy takes time, saying the same things over & over to the same
people until they stop & take notice.