Music education experts at Secretary of Education's Summit

American Music Teacher, Dec, 2004

A team of four leading researchers and practitioners in the music education field gave a briefing to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and a gathering of top teachers from around the nation as part of the Department of Education's "Research-to-Practice Summit" this summer in Washington, D.C.

Headed by Lawrence Scripp, director of the Research Center for Learning Through Music at the New England Conservatory of Music, the team also included Anne Fennell, director of the Carlsbad, California-based MusicVentures program; Maine elementary school teacher Heather Katz; and Massachusetts music education specialist Abner Baez. Separate teams made presentations on math, science and other subject areas during the summit as well.

A variety of studies has linked active music participation with better performance in school. However, Scripp says, a gap remains between that research and the everyday activities in the nation's schools. Closing that gap, and similar ones in other disciplines, was the goal of the summit.

The "Research-to-Practice Summit" was part of the Department of Education's ongoing "Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative," which Paige unveiled in April. That program brings teachers together for round-table discussions in select cities.

For more information, visit www.amc-music.org.