Madison Schafer

I believe whole-heartedly that every child deserves a high-quality, comprehensive music education delivered by energized music educators. I see FEMEA as a wonderful vessel for providing the tools, resources, and professional development opportunities necessary to help elementary music educators become the best teachers that they can be and enjoy our jobs to the fullest. Especially given the unprecedented times we have been going through recently, I think it is critical that music educators continue to receive this support to help us along our teaching journeys. Given our recent isolation from one another, moving forward I want to help ensure that we can return to the collaboration and group learning experiences that have always been at the root of FEMEA’s mission. I would collaborate with fellow FEMEA members to ensure that our conference offerings are interactive & engaging and presented by top-of-the-line clinicians. I personally have been placing an emphasis this year on culturally responsive teaching & trauma-informed teaching, and I would like to see professional development opportunities related to these practices being offered to our members. I also want to make sure that above all else, our elementary music educators here in Florida continue to find joy in teaching music. I want to help create conference experiences that can refresh & re-energize us so we can continue to bring energy & enthusiasm to our music classrooms. I believe reaching music teachers within their first few years in the career to provide much-needed support & resources is incredibly important, so I would like to expand the efforts that we have already begun this year with Early Career/ New Member outreach. This could include an additional section on the website and/or in the newsletter providing opportunities for new member check-ins, resources specific to beginning teachers, surveys about new member needs, etc. I also want to help further the reach of FEMEA to as many elementary music educators in Florida as possible, so one of my goals would be to take part in new and increased social media & newsletter efforts.