NAfME News
Collegiate Advocacy Summit 2021
This annual summit is an opportunity for NAfME Collegiate members network and collaborate with fellow music education majors from around the United States. All Collegiate members are invited to join us virtually for the Collegiate Advocacy Summit on June 24 and 25, 2021. More details are forthcoming (Event updates will soon appearon this page.)
2021 CMA Foundation Advocacy Grants
For a fourth year, The Country Music Association (CMA) Foundation is working with NAfME to administer State Music Education Association Advocacy Grants. These grants are intended to support the work of our state MEAs with the goal of augmenting existing advocacy initiatives and creating new advocacy opportunities. The 2021 grant application is available here; the deadline for applications is June 30, 2021.
State and Federal News
Will K-12 Schools Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Students?
5/10/21 – “Much of the focus at the K-12 level so far has not been on requiring a COVID-19 vaccination for student attendance and enrollment, but on encouraging teachers, school staff and students 16 years and older to get vaccinated. High rates of inoculated teachers and school staff have helped the expansion of in-person learning this spring, educators said.”
5/6/21 – “This discussion was organized after Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation pausing much of the state’s test-based accountability system, and after Schwinn had publicly defended the administration of tests, saying “it’s important to know how our kids are doing, and it’s important for our families to know.”
Did You Know Kindergarten Is Voluntary in Louisiana? Bill to Make It Mandatory Gains Momentum
5/10/21 – “Democratic Baton Rouge Sen. Cleo Fields’ Senate Bill 10 would make kindergarten mandatory for children who turn 5 before Sept. 30. Public schools are already required to offer kindergarten.”
Newsom Proposes Transitional Kindergarten for All California 4-Year-Olds In Budget Plan
5/12/21 – “Transitional kindergarten, currently available only to about one-third of California’s 4-year-olds, would be expanded to all by the 2024 academic year under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, part of a wide-ranging multiyear, multibillion-dollar commitment to education targeted to help students most in need.”
Study: New Jersey Early Childhood Program’s Benefits Stretch To 10th Grade
5/10/21 – “Students in grades 3-10 who participated in New Jersey’s Abbott Preschool Program showed higher achievement levels in language/literacy, math and science, as well as lower grade retention by grade 10, according to a study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, conducted by researchers from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers Graduate School of Education.”
Research and Analysis
The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students
5/10/21 – “The purpose of this study is to examine how access to arts education in BPS influences education outcomes pertaining to student social-emotional and academic outcomes as well as parent and teacher perspectives regarding school climate. This research strengthens the case for quality arts education for every student, finding significant evidence increases in arts education lead to improvements on a range of indicators of student and parent school engagement.”
Policy Roundup compiled by NAfME’s Rob Edwards