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=﻿Music Education Blog=

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3-7-11 **TAKE ACTION NOW: Teaching jobs are under threat!**

A House Committee is ready to vote to allow school employee furloughs for economic reasons - not based on seniority - so any teacher could be laid off arbitrarily.

House Bill 855 would allow school districts to furlough employees for "economic reasons" without first requiring school boards to cut costs.

A Vote Is Coming: The House Education Committee is voting on this bill on Wednesday, March 9.

Please help in speaking out against the bill as written. We need to flood members of the Committee with calls and e-mails. And we need YOU to help do it.

* * * Write or e-mail your state representative TODAY. Use the PSEA Capwiz link. It will only take you one minute to TAKE ACTION

@http://www.capwiz.com/psea/issues/alert/?alertid=32793501

* * * Even more effective will be a personal phone call. You can use this script or make up your own!

"Please oppose House Bill 855 in its current form. I work in the [your local district] School District with students who you represent, and I urge you to consider their needs when you vote on HB 855. Don’t let school districts make arbitrary decisions about who works with the students you represent. I understand that the economy has impacted my school, but we should work together to craft solutions that are fair to employees and in the best interest of our students."

Resolution on Music Education (2000)
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the benefits of music education:

Whereas there is a growing body of scientific research demonstrating that children who receive music instruction perform better on spatial-temporal reasoning tests and proportional math problems;

Whereas music education grounded in rigorous instruction is an important component of a well-rounded academic program;

Whereas opportunities in music and the arts have enabled children with disabilities to participate more fully in school and community activities;

Whereas music and the arts can motivate at-risk students to stay in school and become active participants in the educational process;

Whereas according to the College Board, college-bound high school seniors in 1998 who received music instruction scored 53 points higher on the verbal portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test and 39 points higher on the math portion of the test than college-bound high school seniors with no music or arts instruction;

Whereas a 1999 report by the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse states that individuals who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; and

Whereas comprehensive, sequential music instruction enhances early brain development and improves cognitive and communicative skills, self-discipline, and creativity;

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that --

(1) music education enhances intellectual development and enriches the academic environment for children of all ages; and

(2) music educators greatly contribute to the artistic, intellectual, and social development of American children, and play a key role in helping children to succeed in school.