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STANDING COMMITTEES
From the
Executive Director
ADVOCACY & COLLABORATION
EMILY WILLIAMS BURCH, CHAIR
EmilyWilliamsBurch@gmail.com
Our Role in Ending
COMPOSITION INITIATIVES the Teacher Shortage

DAN FORREST, CHAIR
dan@danforrest.com I made the decision to become a music edu-

cator in the sixth grade. In my very fi rst article
DIVERSITY INITIATIVES for the Choral Journal, I told you about my ele-
ARREON HARLEY-EMERSON, CHAIR Robyn Hilger mentary music teacher, Kathlyn Reynolds. She
aharley@choirschoolofdelaware.org

is the fi rst in a very long line of music educators who cultivated my
passion for music, cast a vision for me to become a teacher, and sup-
EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION
ported me in getting there. Yes, my parents played a role. However,
JAMILA MCWHIRTER, CHAIR
my parents were not key factors in my decision or ability to become
jamila.mcwhirter@mtsu.edu
a teacher. It was my music teachers who were most infl uential. In
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES fact, my parents had absolutely no music knowledge or experience,
and without the support of my music teachers, I would have never
JOSHUA HABERMANN, CHAIR
joshhabermann@gmail.com known how to traverse the vast space between my desire to be a
teacher and actually being one.
REPERTOIRE & RESOURCES The US Department of Education has had music listed as a
GRETCHEN HARRISON, CHAIR teacher shortage area for 32 states since 2011. Rather than being a
nationalrr@acda.org new conversation, it appears we have more than a decade of experi-

ence to tell us that we must do things differently if we are truly going
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS to close this gap. It is a complex issue that encompasses everything

JESSICA NAPOLES, CHAIR from the financial burden of college to teacher pay scales to working
Jessica.Napoles@unt.edu conditions and resources to even simply being able to be admitted to
a school of music. I can’t address all these items in a single column,
so I choose to start at the beginning: the decision to become a music
teacher. The other issues are critical to an ultimate solution; howev-
ADVOCACY STATEMENT er, there are some things that we can actually do today.
I have a background in college and career-readiness prepara-
The human spirit is elevated to a broader understanding tion for K-12 students, particularly students in historically margin-
of itself and its place in the world through the study of and alized and underrepresented communities. Something interesting
participation in choral music. Singing in a choir produces happens when we seek to serve students and families in ways that

more active and involved citizens. It affects self-worth
in youth and adults. It builds connectivity throughout meet their needs. We end up supporting all students and families
communities. Society benefits from the aesthetic beauty in a better way. A rising tide lifts all boats. Just because a student

and community of singers created by choral programs comes from a middle-class or wealthy background does not mean
within schools, houses of worship, and community that they are prepared to navigate the pathway to a career. And,
organizations through involved citizenry, connectivity as everyone reading this article knows, the pathway to a career in
throughout communities, and feelings of personal self- music (teaching or otherwise) is even more complicated than simple
worth. The American Choral Directors Association and
its membership resolve to ensure the survival of choral college admittance.
programs for this and future generations by: My mother just retired from being a school counselor and pro-
vided career guidance to many students over her years in the public
Actively voicing support for funding at local, state,

and national levels of education and government; school setting. She will be the first to tell you that there really is a

collaborating with local and national organizations to specific expertise needed to be prepared for and capable of entering
ensure the distribution of arts funding data and arts- a school of music. We are in luck! We don’t have to look very far to
related activism opportunities; advocating for full access find the people with this knowledge, because it is us! In looking back

to choral singing and inclusion of all singers in a choral
program; and ensuring the distribution of advocacy
statements and data regarding choral programs.
2 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2022 Volume 63 Number 3