Once I became a teacher, I started to parse out what exactly it was about music that changed my life. I realized that not everyone could be a musician, but every child could benefit from a music education. I began to look at studies that correlated learning music and playing an instrument with increased proficiency in math. This synergy between my childhood music education and my adult research and teaching experience led to the development of my philosophy and program: Music in Everything.

Its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) promised that all students would be at or on grade level by 2014 — now we know that this formula of testing students at grade level doesn’t increase student engagement and achievement. What does increase these attributes of student growth is the language that defines the ‘‘well-rounded learner” as initiated by the ESSA Act of 2015.. As an advocate and student of Music Education, I’ve researched and developed teaching strategies to improve the quality of Music instruction for all my students — the ESSA Act had arrived on my doorstep and I was prepared to take action.