OMEA: Backstage Pass
OMEA: Backstage Pass takes you behind the curtain of the Ohio Music Education Association — the second-largest music education association in the country. Hosted by Executive Director Jay Wardeska, each episode features conversations with the people shaping music education across Ohio, from advocacy and policy to the day-to-day work of supporting music teachers and students statewide. New episodes every two weeks.
OMEA: Backstage Pass
Backstage on Advocacy
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OMEA: Backstage Pass takes you behind the curtain of the Ohio Music Education Association. In this episode Executive Director Jay Wardeska talks all things advocacy with OMEA President Danielle Shaub and Advocacy Chair Austin Ahlborn. Get insight, tips, and updates on what OMEA's advocay program is all about.
Welcome back to OMEA Backstage Paths, the official podcast of the Ohio Music Education Association. I'm Jay Wordeska, Executive Director of OMEA, and I'll be serving as your host. We're so excited to kick off a brand new season bringing you insider access, practical insights, uh, inspiring stories, and information from music educators across the state of Ohio. Before we dive into today's conversation, make sure to hit that follow or subscribe button right now in whichever podcast app you're listening on. We'll be dropping fresh episodes every two weeks, and subscribing is the best way to ensure that you never miss a beat. To kick off season one, we're going to go behind the scenes of one of the most vital efforts in OMEA, the advocacy program. Music education changes lives, but protecting and promoting it takes dedicated, strategic work. Joining us today to unpack how OMEA advocates for music teachers and students across Ohio are two key leaders driving this mission forward. Let's head backstage. Welcome to this episode of OMA Backstage Pass. I'm OMEA Executive Director Jay Wordeska, and I'm excited to be joined today with two members of the OMEA leadership team, people who are extremely dedicated to OMEA's mission of providing a high-quality music education for every Ohio student and who are passionate, dedicated members of OMA. Our two guests are OMA State President Danielle Schab and our newly minted OMEA advocacy chair, Mr. Austin Auburn. We're uh welcome both of you. Thank you for joining us. Uh Daniel, you uh in addition to uh your great legacy as uh a, as you call yourself, an average music teacher, although I would say that's uh not true, uh can you take us back uh as a person who really got us started in advocacy, uh to what it was like to get the advocacy committee started, how did it come to be about, and why is it that OMIA even needs an advocacy program?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I just want to say first of all, thanks to you and Austin for making the time to be able to have this conversation. I feel it's important to our membership to be able to hear uh where the advocacy advocacy committee uh has started and where it's going. Um, but it really for me personally just started um at my own school district. Uh we went through a stretch of failed levies and suddenly the arts at the elementary level were part of the cut conversation. And as we both know, it takes so long to build a music program that one year of cuts can take a decade or more to rebuild. So in my time, I realized that I couldn't just teach and hope people noticed. I needed to do something about it and talk about and promote the great things happening in our district and ultimately celebrating our student successes because there were so many. And as we know, um music is need needs to be seen as an essential, not an extra. And that leads into OMEA meeting an advocacy committee, because by the time a program is cut or reduced or eliminated, it's often too late. So we need to continue to be proactive, like Austin's doing and we are doing as OMEA, and aware of districts facing levies and financial pressure, so we can step in with support and ultimately one unified voice uh before decisions are made, not after.
SPEAKER_02We put that very well and kind of answered some of my next questions, but now you wear two hats, being both the president of OMEA and uh of course uh OMEA's primary advocate. So, how do you see um what do you see as really a growth of the advocacy program in order to match the vision that you really really had? And how do you see your role as president in making that happen?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so obviously my original vision was that I would chair the committee for some time or a long time and continue to build it. But as you said, the opportunity presented itself to run for state office, and now I have the honor and privilege of serving as OMEA president. And I feel like ultimately both of us, OMEA and the committee are pulling in the same direction, which I'm sure we'll state many times that every student in every district deserves a high-quality music education taught by a certified music teacher. And so with the committee keeping that growing and the momentum, that tells me Ohio's music students have a strong future ahead.
SPEAKER_02Great. Well, Austin, obviously, um, we're excited to have you uh take over the the reins from Danielle in terms of running the advocacy committee. And uh, for those of you who don't know Austin, he has a a uh strong history in Ohio, being uh a product of OMEA music education and Ohio music education, and then became a teacher himself and uh now a scholar as well. So um we we feel like uh we're privileged to have you on board. If you could share with with our members um and everybody listening, what exactly is it that the advocacy committee does day to day and throughout the course of the year?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks, Jay and Danielle. It's great to join you both for this conversation. So looking at the advocacy committee as a whole, we're really dedicated to making sure that we're providing the resources that our music educators in Ohio need and also really trying to fully understand the landscape of what's happening throughout the state in terms of school districts and school music programs so that we can provide the necessary resources. And that manifests itself in a lot of different ways. Um, some of the more visible ways that people are probably a little bit more familiar with are some of the state level meetings that we've had with the Ohio State Legislature, meeting with representatives and senators at that level, um, but also at the annual Hill Day in Washington, D.C., meeting with federal senators and House of Representatives members to share about what we're doing at OMEA and what we care about. Um, but also some some of the behind-the-scenes stuff as well is as we focus on um making sure that there's advocacy-related programming at the professional development conference and reviewing sessions and making sure that we have offerings there, but also um just generally being a resource for anybody who really reaches out, and that can be teachers, but that can also be community members. And we even recently, just within the past couple weeks, had a community member reach out looking for some data that they could use to help advocate for some music programs when there was a teacher who left and there was there are plans to not refill that position. So we're here to help provide resources in that case and help folks know exactly what they need to do and the steps that they can take to be successful in those local level efforts.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Um, you know, I I I think we those of us who've who've been uh teaching for a long time, we understand unfortunately this has been a vicious cycle of continually um having to fight for arts education. And I we certainly can talk about all the reasons that that might be. Um but I remember when the word advocacy first came into fashion back, I think it was back in the late 80s, early 90s, uh it was a word that was sort of new to us. It's not something that the act was new to us, but the word was. And I notice now that a lot of times when people hear the word advocacy, uh, you know, it's kind of like the groan that happens at a teacher's meeting, uh, you know, from the administrator. No offense to any administrators who might be listening, but I think uh people have kind of uh they they kind of cringe when they hear the word advocacy and feel like they don't have a lot um of time to give to it. And I think sometimes they they misunderstand both the significance and the methodology. Can you each talk about what that word might mean to you and maybe if there's a better way to frame it?
SPEAKER_00Uh for me, it just means telling your story. Uh, you're just really sharing what happens in your classroom with the people who make decisions about it. And I think teachers, like you said, hear the word advocacy and they picture lobbying or politics and it feels intimidating. So I think we if we look at it as a phrase of sharing your story or promoting the good, um, I think that's a better way to look at it because let's be honest, um, none of us took a college class in this to prepare for us, prepare us for um these type of situations. Um, but you're advocating every day that you're in front of your students. So I think if you've ever invited a principal or a school board member to a concert or posted about your student successes on social media, um, you're already an advocate. Just continue to do it.
SPEAKER_01Great, awesome. I would agree with everything that Danielle just said, but I would also add that for me, a lot of advocacy at multiple different levels is about relationship building. And when you think about the local level, it's about making sure that people in your community, your school board members, your administrators know what your story is, to Danielle's point, and what you're doing in your classroom so that they understand what music education is doing for our students, but also um building those broader relationships too, where people in the community know who you are and what you stand for as a person. And if you have instances where maybe cuts do come, um there are people who are willing to stand by you and be on your side and help support you in your program.
SPEAKER_02I love that. So story and relationship building are the two words that came out of uh of both of your answers. And I think the storytelling is something that I find a little ironic that you know, we're all we all come from the musician background where clearly we were comfortable, you know, being on stage and being sort of the center of attention. But for some reason, when it comes to our work in the classroom, a lot of times we feel more modest about it. I think that combined with the fact that you know teachers are doing what they should be, they're focused on being better teachers and making sure that they take care of their kids. But that idea of just um even just sharing on social media, it's uh it's an easy thing for people. They seem to get on there whenever they have something too negative to talk about, but a lot of times we don't share all the successes and and things. And there are lots of people reading our social media accounts that that could be perhaps um won over to helping support our cause through that method. Um, you I think you both told good good um definitions and framed that really well. Can you can you give maybe some concrete examples of what it may look like for a music teacher in their own classroom or building? You you mentioned sharing, um, sharing successes and uh and inviting people to concerts, but maybe um how can that that translate into advocating at your building level at your school board, maybe or in your local school district?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for us, I'll just speak personally. We now have a uh showcase of the arts that's whole uh held annually and it's a K-12 uh event that happens once a year, and it does just that. It showcases all of the arts and our STEAM and our performing and visual art programs, just because we want to make sure that um we are seen to our community. Um, we know a lot of times they hear about us, but to give them an opportunity to have really a hands-on experience to hear and see what goes on because um I I truly believe that if the first time your community hears from you is when your program is going to be cut or reduced, you're behind. And I think that's the strongest message that I can say is that if if you wait, you are behind. And so it's so important to be proactive and have the opportunity for community members to just take part in what you do and have it as a collaborative effort.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely, absolutely agree with that. Finding ways to engage community members in those performances or whatever else you're doing with your program, but I also think finding ways to engage other members of the school community. So I'm thinking like your the other teachers in your building, um, your school board members, your administrators. I mean, I know um when I was teaching band, we had another teacher come and narrate a performance, one of our performances for us. And we've engaged administrators in different ways. And I think you want your name to be associated with positive things that are happening in the building. And sometimes I know, especially at like the middle school, high school level, it's easy to run into like course conflicts, but you don't want the only time a teacher hears your name in the building to be when those conflicts come up. So find a way to build relationships throughout the building, even though it can be easy with as many things as as we have going on as music educators to stick out in our own classroom sometimes. So branch out and make some friends and meet new people, I think, is one thing that I would love to recommend at the local level.
SPEAKER_02That's great. I am uh getting back to that storytelling idea again. One of the things that when I was teaching, we made uh a tradition among our entire music program was that every month at the school board meeting, uh, there would be some story or some kind of invitation during public comment. Um, it might be a student who shared something successful that had happened. Um, it might be a parent doing the same thing, it might be just announcing upcoming events, but it became a tradition that lasted many years, and the school board members look forward to the fact there would always be something positive during public comment, which as we know isn't what often happens during public comment. So it really created uh just a positive um relationship as well between the school board and the music program. They saw us as supporters of the overall um school community. Uh so we've deliberately kind of started this conversation talking a lot about the the local level because um you know that's key to to everything that we're doing is making sure that all of us in our profession are promoting and advocating our successes at the ground level. But how does that look as we start to get to the state level? And people ask me frequently what does OMEA do in Ohio when it comes to helping the things that are issues for state uh school districts. Can you talk a little bit about that, Danielle? You've been kind of the you've been the mastermind behind starting to visit regularly the state capitol and talk with our state legislators.
SPEAKER_00Sure. I think consistency is key and having those consistent times where we meet uh specifically twice a year when they're in office and especially when policies and things are coming around on the table. Um but this past March, for example, we went to the state house in Columbus and had seven um meetings with legislators. And we've also met with Jay and I have met with uh leadership at the Department of Education and Workforce just to keep those communications going because we want to continue to work together. And I think that's the most important thing that we continue to strive for excellence in what we do. And sometimes you just need to come along with some other organizations and partners to make that happen. So um in our efforts, I I truly believe we come with clear priorities, as I said earlier, uh certified music teachers in every classroom, sustained arts funding, and we bring um kind of the the message of today's podcast: real stories from real Ohio classrooms to back them up.
SPEAKER_02Love that. Austin, anything you wanted like to add?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, to to Danielle's last point, we we really think it's valuable when we can bring specific information from that individual legislators district and their constituents to share exactly what's happening because there are so many times that these people are doing so many different things, and education is only one facet of public policy in Ohio, and so it's it's kind of a blip on the radar for some, and for others, it's more of a priority. But we really want to make sure that they're aware of what OMEA is doing, what our music educators are doing, um, and how decisions that they're making and votes that they're um votes that they're voting on and legislation that's going through is affecting um not only music teachers, but also our music education students and then the people who are engaging in these programs throughout the state. So I think it's important that they hear from us and from you all, um speaking to the OMEA membership in general as to what's happening.
SPEAKER_02I think people tend to think about our visits and um the work of advocating with legislators strict strictly about legislative wins and how that affects policy. Can you talk about that a little bit in terms of maybe how that might be a misconception and what what some of those conversations might look like? And then if each of you could share maybe either uh uh what you think is a big advocacy win or um well, big or small, something that you're proud of that we've accomplished so far.
SPEAKER_00Well, I'll just say that you don't need to be a policy expert. I am not. Austin's probably uh he's way more knowledgeable on this than I am, but it takes it takes work and it takes time to be able to look into these policies because as Austin will probably talk on too, you know, there's a lot of things that come across the table that we never hear about till after the fact. So uh staying up to date and current. Um, and like I said, it's just important that we continue to keep our ears open and listening, and that your story about your students is powerful in any legislator's office. It truly is um something I'm proud of. Uh, two things in particular. Um, this past uh professional development conference, as I'm sure many of you were at, uh, we had District One from Columbus, Dontavius Geralds, attend the uh state board meeting as well as open the trade show and his energetic personality um definitely amped up the opening, so to say. Um, but he's truly has been a true advocate and supporter of music education. And um also giving a shout out to his legislative aide, Stephanie, who they've just been both wonderful to work with, and just making sure that the advocacy relationship, what it looks like, it doesn't, it's not when the meeting ends, it's as the continuous time continues to move through when um we're asking for specific ass or areas that we can continue to work on. Um, and I'll just add that personally, um, another win for our um my school district that I teach in, Lake Local Schools. Uh, I invited uh local representative Scott Oslager to a leadership breakfast back in December. And uh he not only uh stayed for the entire event, he was gracious enough to stay for three hours and talk to our administration and school board members to see and hear all the great opportunities that are available at Lake. So it was just wonderful to be able to see our students take part in that, have conversations with him, but also just that he was so down to earth and wanted to have that opportunity to speak and visit locally with our school district. So we certainly appreciated both of those opportunities.
SPEAKER_02That's fabulous. Uh Austin?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, going back to what Danielle was saying at the beginning, it's policy moves really slowly. And a lot of what we're seeing in terms of news coverage for policies that are moving through the House or the Senate tends to be two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through the process when we're eventually hearing about it in the news, because there are so many uh sort of background steps that um are less maybe necessarily flashy, but are also equally important. And there's a lot of um time and text that is written and revised and edited and gone through committee and things like that over and over again before it gets voted on in the House or before it gets voted on in the Senate. And even then things ping-pong back and forth all the time. So I think what we've started to do is really start to build some frameworks of these relationships. And in my opinion, a win is that we've had some legislators who we've been working with say, hey, we're willing if you have some legislation or things that you're interested in in the near future, like start to come up with some ideas for us. What do you want to see? Um, other organizations throughout the United States have been successful in solidifying music education as a key part of the curriculum within their states, and that's something we've considered. And so as we continue looking at what's going to be best and make the most sense with the legislature that we have, I think just the start of that and having folks who are willing to uh sponsor us and partner with us is huge.
SPEAKER_02Fantastic. Well staying focused on the white, on the uh uh visits in in Columbus, um, you know, I I want to also just stress to uh Danielle's point about the actually to both of your points that the relationship um with Representative Gerald's is sort of an example of of what just common finding common ground and building those relationships um mean. And you know, I think anyone who encountered him at the conference or got to hear him talk saw such an example of someone whose own experience in music helped shape who they became. And he has still such a respect for that fact that he wants to give back. Um so can you tell us a little bit more about um really? How the state capital visits are organized and what kind of a plan we have for those moving forward and what kind of issues it is that we're talking to those state legislators about. I know we all will talk a little bit about Washington, DC in a few minutes, but um I think that the three of us having had some experience in Columbus, uh it feels like a much more receptive environment than sometimes we have felt in other other places. So, Daniel, can you talk a little bit about how that evolved and how it goes happens?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I think just being visible, um, a lot of times the in-person, not just um, you know, a phone conversation, but going shows that you're willing to put in the time and effort to have these conversations because it's that important. Uh so we put together briefing materials each time we go as long along with um talking points and leave behinds, just so that there is something tangible that when we leave, there is something for the legislator, whether we're meeting with them personally or with a staffer that they have to look at. Um, in case something does come across the table, they can look at the material that we presented. Uh, we aim for two state house visits a year just because we want to be um building relationships year-round. And I feel like the uh advocacy works best as an ongoing conversation, not just a single meeting. So continuing, I know we've said, you know, relationships a lot. That's truly what it's about, and making sure that we schedule them strategically throughout the year.
SPEAKER_02Austin?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I mean, I think just as we continue to build these relationships, we're really focused on music education. And I touched on this a little bit before in terms of we want to see music education be something that students are required to take and things have shifted in the curriculum. We have that arts education seal, which is an amazing um win for our state, but also it would be amazing if if students had to be a part of the arts and experience at least some form of music arts or other type of education as they're going through their high school years so that they have that exposure to that. Um, because we all know how important that is. And there are other states, as I've mentioned, who've been successful in that. But in addition to that, there's other things that we can look at in the curriculum. And at a broader level, we know just how much of an issue school funding is in general and how those school funding cuts tend to cascade down to arts and music programs first. And so that larger piece is also something that we've been focused on and have been, I would say, pleasantly surprised to hear that both sides on both sides of the aisle that there are legislators who are working on and committed to solving this problem, even if they have perhaps different perspectives on how to best do that.
SPEAKER_02That's great. And you know, when you talked about the leave behinds, Danielle, um this is a really important way that our membership can help us help them, which is communicating with us. Uh we we do everything we can and we tap into as many resources as as are available to try to keep track of what's happening in the local districts. But when members can share that information with us, that's that's really a tool that we can use effectively. Um, whether you just send me an email or one of us on the team an email or leave us a phone message, um, it makes it it makes us have the ability to more directly address those legislators. So that for example, the last visit that we did in Columbus, we were able to have a document that was very specifically designed for each of the legislators where we could give key data in their the the in the districts they represent that showed, frankly, some of the districts they leave that they actually live in and the effects of the school funding was having on those districts. And they were many of them surprised, they weren't aware. Um, so it it's more effective when we can get those stories out that that um that we can get from each of you. So um again, I just want to encourage you to realize we're here to help you, but we need your help too in order to do that. Uh the three of us were um just in Washington in June. Um, it's always an interesting time to visit, especially these days. Um, and so we were able to go to the Capitol as part of uh NAFME's Hill Day. And so uh maybe you could talk a little bit, Danielle, as a as a state president. You know, what was the purpose of that trip? Uh, what offices did we meet with? And how did OMEA kind of uh craft this to emphasize OMEA's top priorities?
SPEAKER_00Sure. So uh I think the purpose is simple. We put Ohio classroom stories directly in front of our federal delegation and make sure that music education has a voice when funding and policy decisions are made in Washington. And um I believe we all three would agree that it was a very productive day. We had eight meetings, uh including both of Ohio senators, and our priorities were simple when we went into every room. Um again, every student deserves a certified music teacher. Access to music education shouldn't depend on your zip code, and that federal arts funding must be protected and sustained.
SPEAKER_02Austin, anything you want to add fill in or add to that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, overall, I think it's also, again, just an opportunity in that relationship building piece that I'm gonna keep coming back to. We get to not only meet with these uh these legislators and some of their chief staffers, but also get to interact with everybody else who's in their office, which includes some interns and folks who are who are relatively new to the scene. And I know that was one thing that I took away was just how impactful music education was um to so many of the people that we interacted with in those office, even if they were just somebody who was greeting us as we came in and we had a conversation with them on the way out, and they happened to play saxophone in high school for four years, and so that they were they were invested in our message. And I think them knowing what we're doing as well is important because they're the ones who are also interfacing with their legislators who are their bosses day to day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a really great point. And you know, one of the things that has struck me over the years is that we get um uh understandably, people are very passionate about their own political positions. And so frequently when they find out we're meeting with, you know, a certain senator or a certain congressman, they have very passionate feelings about whether we should or shouldn't meet with those people. And um, you know, my my feeling has always been the same, which is uh you know, we need to meet with the people who don't agree with us as much as the people who do, or maybe more so, because how will we ever win them over to our side of the argument, so to speak, if we don't have those difficult conversations. One thing that that's been kind of, I think, obvious is the the fact that almost everyone agrees that music and arts education is essential for a student. I mean, it doesn't matter which side of the aisle they're on. And the first question I've always asked is, you know, do you have any experience with music? And you know, our first two meetings of the day this this past June were with our two senators, and both of them had personal connections that they could immediately connect with and when it came to uh music education, whether it was their children who had been involved in music or themselves. And immediately you could see a look of recognition, a smile, an immediate understanding of what we were talking about. Um, and and you know, when we talk about wins, maybe it's not a full-on win, but if we can agree at least on the importance of it, then maybe how to get there isn't so challenging for us. Um, was there a moment or a conversation or something specific about funding or arts policy that stuck out to either of you from this year's visit?
SPEAKER_00I was just gonna say for me, you know, it's personal because I don't go in necessarily. I know I'm the president of OMEA, but I'm a music teacher from Lake Local Schools. And so always going in with my students' best interest in mind, uh, the legislators and staffers hear numbers all day long. So I think it's important that when when I'm there, I truly have the best interest of my students in mind and that they put a real classroom experience behind those numbers and then the conversation changes. So the win for me is that they hear the positive stories. In fact, that's how I addressed uh one of the centers, senators that way is that, you know, I am a music teacher that loves their job, that the student success and the music programs that are made possible are made possible by certified music educators that put in an enormous amount of time and effort. And I'm just the person that happens to be here to address that. But there are thousands of others in the state that have that same impact and that build relationships and just amazing programs that sometimes you know you don't always get to see or hear about. But if I can be that person that carries that message for everyone else, then I think then that's that's why I'm here is to make sure that our message is very clear.
SPEAKER_02Austin, anything you want to add?
SPEAKER_01I think just I was pleasantly surprised um having not been to Washington, DC with the team before, since this was my first time. I think there was a lot more receptiveness to some of the things that we were talking about than I was expecting to. Um I think a lot of a lot of these legislators agree that these federal title funds that we'll talk about maybe a little bit later are really important for our school's music classrooms and what they do for our schools in general. Um so that was certainly a pleasant surprise for me to hear. And I mean, I also have to have to mention Marcy Captor's office, who I mean, we had a conversation with their staffer and we had expressed some concerns about communicating with some folks in that area, and they made a really powerful connection really quickly for us within that within that day. So I think just being there and being in person and being able to share what we're dealing with and and what we're seeing and their staffers and these legislators who are willing to make things happen. I think even if it's not a huge legislative win um immediately, the payoffs over time, I think, can be very beneficial.
SPEAKER_02Great. Well, you've both referenced the title form, the title and the title numbers. And I think a lot of people get they sort of just turn off uh when they start hearing all those Roman numerals thrown around because it gets it gets pretty confusing pretty quickly. Um, can you explain just a little bit about the title uh funds and how those can support music and arts education specifically?
SPEAKER_00I can start. I'm certainly going to pass the baton to uh Austin because he's considerably more knowledgeable when it comes to the title funding. But I'll just say that Title 4a, you know, it the good news is that music education is specifically named in it. So my takeaway for members is always that you need to get familiar with how your district uses uh your title funds because that's where music education lives at the federal level, and more of us know where those dollars go. So the stronger our voices when the budget decisions are made, the better.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and to add and extrapolate on that a little bit, there's a lot of funding in there that's maybe a little bit more general. So there's funds within Title II that can be used for professional development purposes, and that's not for anything in particular necessarily according to the language, but um that's sort of up to district administrators and how they choose to use that. And so something in the conversations that I had with some of the other state leadership and advocacy was um administrators who aren't necessarily aware of some of the language within these title funds and how they can be used and how they can be applied to the benefit of our students and our music educators. And so something I would strongly encourage our membership is to reach out to your administrators if you are a school who receives Title I, Title II, Title IV funding, and just ask how it's being used and finding ways to use it for and to support music education. And if you're not really sure where to start there, that's okay because there's a lot of language and it can get pretty bogged down and some details. But again, that's what the advocacy committee here is for. And if we don't know the answer, there's some folks at NAFME who probably do as well. And so I think the network that we've developed can be a really powerful tool that we would love more people to utilize as they're exploring some of those things.
SPEAKER_02Well, we've kind of danced around, uh, or not really danced around, but we've referenced several times kind of some ways for the general classroom teacher, uh, director, school director, community member to get started with advocacy. But maybe you can, Austin, just kind of give a succinct way that uh some good first steps to really get engaged as an advocate for for the average person.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Um so I'll go back to Danielle and her share a story. I think if you can know what your story is and have that succinct in one to two minutes of why is music education important to me, what has music education done in my life and and for my students, and in finding a way to shorten that down into about 60 seconds to two minutes so that you can quickly share that with somebody in an elevator pitch, uh so to say, um, for music education in your own life and sharing that story, I think can be a great first step. And then going from there, find somebody who is important in your district to share that story with. And I would avoid maybe the first time or two around sharing any specific needs, but just focus on getting to know that decision maker, that person who is important in your community and who can help support you and sharing your story and knowing who they are. For those folks who have maybe done a little bit more of that and who feel a little bit more developed, I would strongly encourage those people to maybe find ways to become more involved in their district leadership, whether that's serving on like a building level committee or getting engaged with your local teachers union and serving on committees or other task forces that way so that you can be a decision maker in the room. I certainly know as as well as many of our members do how much we have going on. Um, but I also think it's really, really important for music teachers to be in those decision-making places and those spaces so that we can share from our perspective what's going on and how some cuts or changes or whatever it may be, new policies are going to affect our students in our classroom. So it's a challenge, but I think finding ways for us to become engaged in those spaces is really important.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Um one of the uh one of the corny things I get made fun of for is my hashtag we are omia. Um and it's also one of my pet thieves because people always say, well, OMEA needs to do this, and I always have to remind them, well, that's you too, because we're all part of the same team. So in talking about that, I think we've we've mentioned several ways that we could really uh use the help of our membership together to uh make our advocacy program stronger. What are some specific things from the committee standpoint that your committee could really use right now or ways maybe people can volunteer or get involved, Austin?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, so our committee um we try and have a representative from every single OMEA district in the state, and they're keeping their ears on the ground listening to issues that are happening in your district. If you don't know who that is, feel free to reach out to me, or we also have a list on the OMEA advocacy tab on the website so you can find who that person is. So they're kind of a first step in terms of if you need to contact somebody or share information, there's somebody who you can go to. But also we can't hear everything, we don't see everything. And so I think as much as possible, if members want to reach out to myself, Jay, Danielle, whoever it is, um, to share about what's going on in your communities, whether it's a great thing or it's a challenging thing, because we want to know what's maybe working really well. And when you're running into roadblocks, we can't do anything from our perspective if we don't have information and we don't have people sharing things with us so that we can take those steps forward. I'd also add that that stories are going to be can are gonna continue to be important, especially at the state level, because so many of those state legislators want to hear from constituents in their district. And even if we can't bring an OMEA member from every single district that we're meeting with in a given legislative day with us, we want those stories and we want to be able to tell them exactly what's happening in their area of the state. So if that's something that is of interest to people, would love to talk more with them as well.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Are there any upcoming uh opportunities or specific dates? I know, Austin, that you've got at least one big event coming up that would be maybe of interest to uh members.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So in about two weeks from now, so that's going to be Sunday, August 16th, at 7 p.m., we are hosting a Zoom sort of webinar, QA session with three different school board members, administrators from throughout the state. And so they have varying uh experiences serving on school boards. Some are current members, some are previous members, but all have really valuable perspectives when it comes to what it's like to serve on a school board because these people aren't just interacting with educators, they're interacting with folks at the state, they're interacting with community members, they're the people who are deciding whether to put a levy on the ballot or not, and they're approving the changes of what cuts are going to happen. And so they have a very unique perspective in terms of being a decision maker in those spaces. And so I'm hoping we can bring them in to share some valuable information with our membership and our advocacy committee and our state leadership as well about what their experiences are so that we can be better leaders ourselves and so be better prepared to go in and advocate within our own school districts.
SPEAKER_02Also, the uh you mentioned the tab on the website. For everybody listening, if you go to the OMEA website under the resources menu, you'll see advocacy. And that will take you to a page that Austin and his team have worked very hard on developing. Can you talk about some of the tools that might be available there for people and resources and links just briefly?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So we're fortunate, and I've mentioned Naphne a little bit already. They have quite a few resources available to us, and so one of the things we've tried to do with them and as well as some of our other partners and music education advocacy is provide links to some high-value resources that we see. Um, we've also provided like contact information if you're will if you're somebody who's willing and interested in contacting your state legislator. We've we've given some information and some initial steps as to how to do that. And we would love feedback as well, there too, going back to Jay's earlier question of if you have a resource that you think would be valuable to you and you don't see it there and you don't see it with any of our advocacy partners, we'd love to know because that's something that we can spend time in and develop. So um, we're continually building that, can continually working on that, and just want to make it as good as possible for our music educators, students, and communities.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Um, do either of you have some closing thoughts and why this work matters to you or some things you'd still like to share that we haven't covered yet? Danielle?
SPEAKER_00I was just gonna say that the easiest thing to do, um, I referenced earlier that you know we had a state representative of our school. I didn't do anything special other than send an email and make a phone call. Um, and that's truly all you need to do. Um, I would start my key point and suggestion would be to start small and start with a date or two. Um, a lot of times the legislators, if they're not in Columbus, they're they're visiting around in their hometown and home area. So uh reach out and um, if they don't respond via email, make a phone call, make it personal, and uh reach out to see if there's something that they can attend and thank them in person. If they attend the event, make sure that they're recognized because they've taken time out of their schedule. And I think uh being formal with a follow-up thank you, um just like life in general, kindness matters. So uh continue to make sure that you're just reaching out and uh sharing your message. And if they can't come to one, then offer some other dates to see if they can. But it's really starting small and just sharing what you do uh to build those relationships because if you wait, you're too late.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely agree with exactly what Danielle just said. And I'll also add, like when I was teaching 5 through 12 music, I was one of only a couple music teachers in both districts that I taught in that were relatively small. And that can be an isolating experience sometimes, especially for younger teachers who are still learning the area and may not have as many connections. And so I think advocacy work, whether that's for your program or even getting involved in other sorts of committees at your school or in your OMEA district is a great way to engage with other people and build community and get to know folks who also really, really care about this work that we do. Um, and so I think to that again, relationship building point, uh, it's a great place to start at if if you're somebody who's passionate about this type of work and want to meet other similarly like-minded folks.
SPEAKER_02Great. Well, both Danielle and Austin are uh practicing teachers. Uh they spend every day in the classroom doing the work. Um Austin is also a graduate student, so he's doing twice the work for all of us out there. But I think that's important to mention that in spite of the busy schedules that you have, um, a lot of the effect that you've had is similar to what you've had on your students. That, you know, walking the walk and uh talking the talk, so to speak, not being afraid to have conversations and to build those relationships have been a big part of why you've been successful and had an impact on music education. And uh I know I speak for all of our members when you know I say thank you for the fact that you're willing to volunteer and to be selfless servants and leaders among our profession. And uh, we are very excited for um the rest of the year as we are about to kick it off and the great progress that we're gonna continue to make. So thank you both for joining us and to all of our OMIA members and music educators listening. Um, be sure to give us a like or a follow. Um, follow us on social media and keep us informed so that we can do what we can to continue to support you in the great work that you do every day.