RESTON, VA (March 1, 2013) ?The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) leads the nation in spotlighting the importance of music education year round, but especially during the annual celebration of Music In Our Schools Month®. This March, schools and communities around the country will participate in activities and initiatives to raise awareness of the benefits of learning music and the ways music empowers and enriches lives. The year?s theme is ?Music Education ? Orchestrating Success.?

Share Your Story

An exciting social media initiative, ?Share Your Story,? is already under way. ?NAfME wants to hear from people whose lives have been positively affected by music,? said Executive Director and CEO Michael A. Butera. ?We are collecting ?stories? -- any kind of personal testimony -- from teachers, students, and parents about why music education is important. We are posting these on our advocacy blog and on a special page on our website. We will use these stories when we visit Capitol Hill later this year to make our case for protecting music in school. The more we can collect from constituents, the better positioned we will be to garner support in Congress for our legislative agenda, which includes supporting the arts as a core subject in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.?

Share Your Story and read others: http://advocacy.nafme.org/category/shared-stories/

The Concert for Music In Our Schools Month

Music students will shine online in the annual Concert for Music In Our Schools Month. This free resource brings students, teachers, and schools from around the world together as they sing the Concert songs in March. The Concert for MIOSM (formerly known as the World?s Largest Concert) features songs appropriate for K?12 students. The program is:

• ?Alleluia! Jubilate!?
• ?Cripple Creek?
• ?Peace Drum Song?
• ?The Power of Music?
• ?The Star-Spangled Banner?
• ?Why We Sing.?

Featured videos of school performances from around the country are available to all NAfME members on the NAfME website without charge. Since September 2012, NAfME members have been preparing to sing one or more of the Concert songs with their students, schools, and communities during March. ?We thank Hal Leonard Corp. for their continued support of The Concert for Music In Our Schools Month by providing the sheet music and audio tracks for the 2013 program.? said Butera.


Listed below are the teachers, schools, and locations of the performing ensembles featured in the Concert for MIOSM.

• Jaree Hall, Nashville Elementary School, Nashville, AR
• Suzanne Decker, Salt River Elementary School, Scottsdale, AZ
• Teddi English , Westwind Elementary Jaree Hall school, Phoenix, AZ
• Francesca Veglia-Dansky, Emma E. Booker Elementary School, Sarasota, FL
• Caren McErlain, Five Forks Middle School, Lawrenceville, GA
• Gina Royal, Ben Hill County School Music Programs, Ben Hill, GA / Fitzgerald, GA
• Melissa Caquelin, St. Mary School,Humboldt, IA
• Vicki Szillage, General George Patton School,  Riverdale, IL
• Nancy Bacon, Newport Intermediate School, Newport, KY
• Janet Barkley, Holy Name School, Henderson, KY
• Mary Scaggs, Moyer Elementary School, Fort Thomas, KY
• Christy Whittlesey, Parker Middle & Chelmsford High Schools, North Chelmsford, MA
• Heidi McCarthy, Carrie Ricker School,Litchfield, ME
• Silvia Moore-Young, Carrie Ricker School, Litchfield, ME
• Helen Mellema, Daisy Brook Elementary. School Fremont, MI
• Cheryl Burford. Clyde Erwin Elementary Magnet School.Jacksonville, NC
• Sara Germanaro. Pisgah Forest Elementary School. Brevard, NC
• Monica Keele. Jones Fox Road Elementary School. Raleigh, NC
• Eleanor Nesbitt. Alamance Elementary School. Greensboro, NC
• Connie Arcilla. West New York Middle School. West New York, NJ
• Jeanne Maletsky. Lakeside Middle School. Pompton Lakes, NJ
• Suzanne Piombo. Lenox School. Pompton Lakes, NJ
• Sarah Ambrose. Dover South Elementary School. Dover, OH
• Jennifer Bohach. Powhatan Elementary School. Powhatan Point, OH
• Barbara Burns, Carolina Springs Elementary School, Lexington, SC
• Kathryn Flint, Orange Grove Elementary Charter School, Charleston, SC
• Doris Moreland, Sequoyah Elementary School, Knoxville, TN
• Cathy Ashanky , Stanley Elementary School, Stanley, VA
• Jane Cole, Penn Elementary School, Woodbridge, VA
• Catherine Drummond, G.C. Round Elementary School, Manassas, VA
• Debra Lindsay, Crestwood Elementary School, Springfield, VA
• Alice Real, Robert E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
• Pat Deming, Grass Lake Elementary School,> Kent, WA
• Elin Mayo, Campbell County Honor Choir, Gillette, WY
• Sharon Johnson, Grass Lake Elementary School, Gillette, WY

Concert songs and more information: http://musiced.nafme.org/concert/.



Shopping Malls Celebrate and Support School Music

General Growth Properties, a company that owns and manages shopping malls nationwide, will support school music programs by hosting student performances at select malls during MIOSM. At the end of March, each mall will select one school ensemble to receive a $500 grant. The locations are

• Four Seasons Town Centre, Greensboro, NC
• Fox River Mall, Appleton, WI
• Glenbrook Square, Fort Wayne, IN
• Lakeside Mall, Sterling Heights, MI
• Lynnhaven Mall, Virginia Beach, VA
• Mall St. Matthews, Louisville, KY

More Programs and Activities

NAfME celebrates MIOSM with additional activities including radio public service announcements, advocacy webinars, specialty items, fundraising initiatives for the Give a Note Foundation, and even a U.S. flag flying over the national Capitol building during March. The NAfME website has more information, including ideas for teachers and parents to promote music programs through the media.

For more information, visit www.nafme.org.

###

National Association for Music Education, among the world?s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association orchestrates success for millions of students nationwide and has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century.



Follow NAfME on Twitter (twitter.com/nafme) and on Facebook (facebook.com/nafme)