I strongly believe in the mission of providing a high quality, comprehensive music education for all children. I believe that the best way to achieve this goal is to enhance collaboration among, and communication between, music teachers. If I am given the opportunity to serve as the District 4 Chair, I will work hard to provide timely and consistent communication to the educators of FEMEA's District 4, and to assist them in every way possible with their paperwork and audition processing needs when preparing for All State and Regional Honor Festivals. I feel that these experiences really broaden students' musical horizons, as my experiences as an All State student are a large part of why I became a music educator myself. I will also listen to the needs and concerns of our district's music teachers, and share them with the FEMEA leadership so that they can be addressed. It would be an honor to serve FEMEA as District 4 Chair.

My mission is to enhance music for each child in my care, regardless of academic ability, ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality, mental capacity, behavioral health, or physical disability. I desire to advocate for my students and fellow music educators at the district and state level. I hope to involve my superintendent, recently named the Florida Superintendent of the Year for 2020, to partner in advocating for music education. My mission remains the same with or without the district chair position, as it is my life’s work.

I have greatly supported the music educators of District 4 within the past two years by going above and beyond to ensure that all educators felt comfortable with the all-state application process. In some cases I drove over county lines to ensure that documents were signed correctly and to eliminate the stress for those particular teachers. I have spoken over the phone to others and walked them through how to create and submit a video or audio audition. I plan to use the already created social media platform to have better communication with the District 4 members, but that will require me to actively seek out the members this January and have them become members of the page. Then, it will become a place to share lesson successes, a place to remind members of important deadlines, and a place to network and unite with other music educators

Music is a powerful tool and has the ability enrich everyone. I wish to be an advocate to allow students to gain the benefits of music education - a rise in intelligence through increased creative thinking, problem solving abilities, a strong desires to achieve and fulfill one's potential, higher self esteem, better developed study skills, concentration, communication and team skills. These benefits transfer from education to careers and help to create individuals that enrich our communities and society.

January 7-10, 2020

I have a strong desire to contribute to music education. Nothing makes me more proud of what I do than when my former students return and express how appreciative they are of what they were taught in my classes. Some of those students now heavily involved in music and a few even have careers in music and arts. If I were to have the honor to be chosen as a district chair, some of the value I can bring includes strong organization skills, strong communication skills, a desire to mentor and help newer teachers and those that may be struggling. I enjoy working as a team and encouraging individuals to use their strengths in cooperative planning.