It’s Teacher Appreciation Week!  Never too late or too early to thank a teacher for his or her impact on your life! 

Melissa Salguero built an remarkable music program at P.S. 48 in New York City.  When she started, the program had absolutely no instruments, no funding, and the school hadn’t had a music program for over thirty years.   With grants, teaching awards, and an enthused teaching style, she welcomes any student who wishes to participate in the music program, regardless of financial hardship.  P.S.48 is located in the South Bronx, one of the country’s poorest congressional districts.  Not only has Ms. Salguero been recognized as a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, she has also been awarded Lincoln Center Arts Teacher of the Year, and a 2018 Grammy Music Educator Awards, among many other accolades and honors. 

“Music education teaches us more than the “right” notes.  It teaches us to create, express, and it connects us all,” she exclaims.

At Forum Music Festivals, we have the good fortune each week during the spring to see hundreds of music teachers hard at work impacting the lives of their students. At festival, the students and teacher can see what their efforts have achieved.  From the NAfME website, we share a few thoughts written by music educators who posted about being a music educator.

• Being a music teacher means I get to reach students who other teachers may have “written off.” Everyone is creative!

• Teaching means sharing the world of music with my students! 

• Being a music educator is more than teaching the music, it’s about teaching life, love, & being a “family” 

• Being a teacher means I get to teach students to love and appreciate music as much as I do! 

• I love teaching how to play with emotion.

• Being a music teacher means that I get to live life around creativity. It is so exciting to work with students as they find a place where they can truly think and create within the school.

So, hats off to all of you in music education! You are doing challenging, but important work!  We appreciate you and you deserve every cheer and smile you receive this week!