MusicFriends

Dear MusicFriend,

The Petition for Equal Access to Music Education is now available in an easy-to-share electronic format. Help MENC reach our goal of one million signatures to present to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on June 18 by forwarding the petition to everyone in your address book—and asking them to do the same. (Don't forget to sign it yourself if you haven't already.)

In addition, the paper petition deadline of April 3 has been extended to May 15, so you can distribute paper petitions at your spring concerts and meetings. (Online petition signatures are accepted right up to the June 18 Rally for Music Education.)

For more information, visit 3 Ways to Change Music Education.

Thank you for your support of music education!

Hannah Sharp
Program Manager, Government Affairs and Advocacy

Note: To view and sign the petition on this page, you must have JavaScript enabled on your computer. Need help? Click here.

Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com

Empowering Parents for the Arts

Keep Arts in Schools is holding a webinar entitled "Empowering Parents for the Arts" on Thursday, April 9, 2009, at 3pm EDT. The webinar will focus on what characteristics and beliefs make a successful parent-advocate for the arts; it will feature a live presentation and interactive Q&A. This is a free event.

Click here to register.

Music In Our Schools Month^®

March is Music In Our Schools Month^® (MIOSM^®), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate MIOSM in your school and community! Visit the MIOSM page and the links below for activity ideas, advocacy resources, and more information.

MIOSM Awareness Items — These are selling out fast, so order yours today! Items are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Order Your World’s Largest Concert^® DVD

Read the Winning MIOSM Student Essays

MIOSM Radio Public Service Announcements

Dear MusicFriend,

MENC has launched a national advocacy campaign to spotlight the importance of music education, and we need your help!

Here are the 3 Ways You Can Change Music Education ... for the Better!

Sign the Petition for Equal Access to Music Education:

Gather signatures in person

Or

Send the online petition to your contacts
Donate to the Change Drive to Change Education:

Collect change in your community

Or

Donate online
Attend the Rally for Music Education:

RSVP to the event

And

Use our Web tools to help your advocacy efforts

If every MusicFriend collects 60 signatures and $5.00 in spare change we would be more than halfway to reaching our goal of 1 million signatures and $100,000 to change music education ... for the better.

If you have questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Hannah Sharp.

Thank you for your support of music education!

Hannah Sharp
Program Manager, Government Affairs and Advocacy

A Message from the President of MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Dear MusicFriend,

MENC has launched a national advocacy campaign to spotlight the importance of music education, and we need your help!

These are the 3 ways you can change music education ... for the better:

Circulate the Petition for Equal Access to Music Education
Launch the Change Drive to Change Education
Attend the Rally for Music Education — June 18, 2009, Washington, D.C.

MENC created the “Petition for Equal Access to Music Education” to unite participants in support of music education in our nation’s schools. We ask anyone who would like to participate to print and distribute petitions among family, friends, and community members at concerts, sporting events, in your classrooms, retail outlets, and in your neighborhood. The signed petitions will be presented on the steps of the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at noon, as part of our “Rally for Music Education.” Thousands of students, along with their music teachers and parents, will bring their own “change” to Washington D.C. and share their vision of the future of music education with the new administration and Secretary of Education.

The goal of the “Change Drive to Change Education” is to collect change to demonstrate that music programs in schools still only get a small piece of change for every dollar spent on education in America. While collecting signatures for the petition, you can ask signers for their spare pocket change. The money collected will support programs that advance music education through MENC’s Fund for the Advancement of Music Education (FAME).

Click here to download the pamphlet detailing the campaign, find a copy of the petition, read tips for conducting your petition and change drives, and learn how to register for the Rally for Music Education.

Thank you for your support of school music!

Sincerely,

Barbara L. Geer
President, MENC: The National Association for Music Education

P.S. Participate as much or as little as you can — but do participate! Your help will make a difference for music education!

Advocacy Resource: Americans for the Arts Action Fund Releases 2008 Election Impact on the Arts Report

The Election Impact on the Arts report reviews the 2008 elections and how they may affect current and future legislation on the arts in the coming years. The report also includes an overview of the new administration’s plan for the arts and arts education. Click here to view the full report.

Dear MusicFriend,

MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the sponsor of MusicFriends, has begun an exciting new relationship with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. The Arts Action Fund is a grassroots membership organization created by Americans for the Arts that seeks to engage citizens in education and advocacy in support of the arts and arts education. As a direct benefit of this partnership, MusicFriends members now have the option of opting in and becoming Advocate members of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. Please be advised: there is no cost whatsoever to MusicFriends members interested in joining the Action Fund. Advocate membership is free simply by opting in.

Many of you may ask, “How is this different from the advocacy work that MENC does?” The big difference is that the Arts Action Fund, because of its unique tax status, is the only national arts organization able to do extensive lobbying on behalf of the arts — including the promotion of arts friendly candidates.

The Arts Action Fund engages in candidate forums and endorsements, issues candidate report cards in election years, and conducts large-scale advocacy campaigns. Arts Action Fund members receive an electronic quarterly newsletter (Arts Action News), access to the E-Advocacy Center (both for federal issues and issues in your state where available) and a variety of Special Reports on the arts.

There’s more! The Arts Action Fund has a related political action committee, the Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC. It is only through this member-supported PAC that the Arts Action Fund is able to raise funds for candidates. The money raised is used to support pro-arts Federal candidates in the elections. This direct support to candidates from PAC contributions is one of the most effective ways of influencing public policy. Members of Congress know that PACs connected to membership organizations represent an activist voting constituency. Americans for the Arts Action Fund is in a unique position to make a real, discernable difference in public arts policy.

To join Americans for the Arts’ Arts Action Fund, simply click here and enter your e-mail address. Your information will be automatically added to the membership database.

Thank you for your continued support of music education!

Sincerely,

John J. Mahlmann
Executive Director, MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Robert Lynch
President, Americans for the Arts

P.S. Want to know more about why the arts need strong advocates? Read Bob Lynch’s article "The Message Needs Good Messengers" from MENC’s June 2008 Teaching Music magazine.

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