"Music In Our Schools" Month Brings Music Advocates to Washington

L to R: Gary Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop; Mel Clayton, President, MENC; Jazz musician Branford Marsalis; Secretary Paige; John Sykes, President, VH1; Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath; NAMM-funded researcher Dr. Martin Gardiner; and NAMM Chairman Paul Murphy, Jr.

In keeping with a tradition established by MENC: The National Association for Music Education, March was "Music In Our Schools Month." In addition to the nationwide slate of performances and educational activities that went along with the observance, a coalition of music education advocates took their case to lawmakers in the nation's capital on March 14 and 15.

Supported by jazz legend Branford Marsalis and Sesame Street co-host Bob McGrath, the group visited members of Congress in their offices and held a special briefing on music and early childhood for the House Education Caucus. NAMM-International Music Products Association Chairman Paul Murphy, MENC Executive Director John J. Mahlmann, VH1 President John Sykes and Brown University Music Researcher Martin F. Gardiner, Ph.D. brought home the importance of music education to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige, among many others.

To coincide with the lobbying session, Representative Bob Clement (D-Tenn.) introduced a concurrent resolution in the House of Representatives calling for all children in America to have "access to a well balanced, comprehensive, sequential program of music taught by qualified teachers." The item has been designated H.Con.Res. 64, and readers can track its progress through the legislative process at http://thomas.loc.gov.

The lobbying effort took place in an environment that could have major implications for the availability of early childhood music education. President Bush's proposed federal budget, his "No Child Left Behind" education reform package, extension of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and other important legislation are all moving toward action by Congress.

"This time of change in our federal government provides an opportunity to make great strides in protecting and promoting music as a part of every child's school curriculum," says NAMM's Murphy. "Recently, Washington has focused a lot of energy on facets of the arts that some people think need to be regulated. We're here talking about a part of the arts world that needs to be nurtured—not with a blind flurry of dollars, but with a structured commitment to reform based on hard research."