SMALL SCHOOLS UPDATE

Karalyn Soffer OMEA Small Schools Chair

Even though we could not see each other in person this year, the 2021 OMEA All-State Virtual Conference was a huge success! Thank you to all of the organizers for your hard work in making the event meaningful for all who attended.

The conference is continuing to expand the number of sessions specifically geared towards the topics and unique needs of a small school music teacher. For the second year in a row, there was a roundtable session where we discussed how small schools are adapting to our various learning situations, and strategies to rebuild our programs when the pandemic is (hopefully) over. Stacey Atwell-Keister led a great session on being a PreK-12 music teacher who has to do it all. I look forward to seeing the number of sessions for small school music teachers expand over the coming years!

suggestions to our All-State events take significant planning and time. The sooner recommendations are made, the more likely they can be effectuated.

Speaking of changes, there will be some modifications to the middle school audition and selection process for next year’s All-State. Expect that important information to come out soon. As usual, all critical information will be shared via e-blast and can be found on our OMEA website. Your middle school ensemble managers have used this “off-year” to come up with good alterations to our process that will increase the overall experience for students while still maintaining fair and equitable representation state-wide.

Lastly, we want to thank all of you. You don’t need anyone to try to explain to you how hard this year has been so we won’t waste time trying. Instead we just want to express our gratitude for all the hard work of teachers across the state. You are doing your absolute best in ridiculously unfair circumstances to deliver a positive experience for your kids and without a doubt, they appreciate it. You are stepping up to the challenge of being a mentor when they need it most –probably more now than ever before. Thank you again for all that you are doing for students across our state.

As the 2020-2021 school year reaches its final stretch, it is time to reflect and look forward to the next year. Small schools have been in all sorts of different learning situations throughout this school year, and although a good portion of us have been able to see our students in-person for many months, that has presented its own challenges to work through. As we all plan on how to move forward and hope for some sort of normalcy, it is more important than ever to reach out to local OMEA leadership and the small schools community for resources and support. If any teacher would like to be a part of the small schools directory, with the Google Drive of resources and contacts, please reach out to me at omeasmallschools@gmail.com.