Music Education Innovator Award
Give A Note Foundation’s Music Education Innovator Award is granted to school music programs led by creative music educators utilizing innovative and sustainable strategies in non-traditional or traditional K-12 music classes in America’s public schools that attract students not typically enrolled in music education courses, in efforts to increase access to music education through diversity in curriculum and approach.
With thanks to our founding sponsor, the CMA Foundation, awards are granted to schools with programs that have significant potential for utilizing $4,000 grants to build upon programmatic successes to date, in efforts to create lasting change in a school or district. Minimally intrusive reporting requirements are developed to allow for other schools and districts to learn from the resulting models, with associated music educators serving as Innovative Ambassadors to the field.
Nomination Form
OUR REVIEW CRITERIA
Give A Note (GAN) is committed to supporting creative, impactful, and sustainable programs in public school music classrooms. We do that, in part, by grounding all our grant programs in community benefit. What matters most to GAN is that the classrooms we support are connected to and serving their community. We call this Community Benefit, and it is the area in our review that is most heavily weighted.
During this particular award, we have an added focus on Innovation. See below for our definitions of both in addition to our third review category: Program Capacity.Community Benefit
GAN defines “Community Benefit” as a teacher’s ability to meaningfully engage their students, parents, the school, and members of the geographic area in which it’s located.
Exceptional applicants will:Demonstrate an understanding, respect, and ongoing response to student needs and interests.
Use knowledge of their students culture and interests to drive their program.
Build meaningful relationships with parents, administration, community partners, and peers.
Create an accessible and inviting environment for their students.
Innovation
GAN defines “Innovation” as a quality music program that inspires and challenges students outside traditional music curriculum.
Exceptional applicants will:Inspire their students, parents, and neighbors to creatively define music education.
Incorporate a process of reflection to ensure fresh programming.
Involve students in activities that go far beyond simply preparing them for concerts/festivals or listening to recorded music.
Make lessons learned in the music classroom more applicable to real world settings.
Show evidence of or potential to attract, enroll, and include students that have not previously been involved in school music programs.
Help students grow in their ability to perform, create (improvise or compose), and/or respond to music in inventive and exciting new ways.
Use approaches/materials/media that are markedly different from those typically found in band, choir, orchestra, or general music settings.
Program Capacity
GAN defines Program Capacity as a teacher’s ability to successfully plan for, manage, and inspire other teachers around the country through its program.
Exceptional applicants will:Demonstrate potential for the program to be transferred to and implemented in other school settings.
Use the support offered by GAN to put in place an innovative program that survives the grant period, thus bringing lasting change to the school and to the student population served.
Show evidence of or potential to attract students ongoing.
Set project goals to measure progress and evolve.
Demonstrate potential to garner additional support for this music program from outside sources with the infusion of this grant money.
