South Suburban Music Teachers Association Named 2014 CSMTA Local Association of the Year

The selection committee’s choice for the local association of the year, South Suburban Music Teachers, illustrates a group of individuals who work together to benefit not only their students, but also the community at large. This group has a core of three major events every year. Their Achievement Day has ranked as one of the top two CSMTA Local Association events in both numbers of students and participating teachers for many years. In addition to their three main events, there is a series of four student recitals. The group advocated for music in the community with a Halloween Recital at Whole Foods that included 85 students performing in costume. Their December Student Recital asks for donations of canned goods for the local food bank as the price of admission. Students are encouraged to perform in more than one group event per year by earning points toward a SSMTA performance medal. SSMTA has set aside up to $600 annually for student scholarships that are based upon the student’s participation in local association events, community service and recommendations from teachers. This year the group gave away two $200 scholarships. The group has just purchased a “traveling piano” for use in senior centers. The senior center recital program launches next year. 

SSMTA has eight teacher programs plus one teacher performance event per year. This year the technology company Piano Marvel was featured on one of their programs. There is an annual 2-piano 8-hands teachers’ event held in the spring that not only advocates for group music performance, but they also collect canned goods for the food shelf. There is an annual teacher grant available to members. Teachers can apply for funds to attend special music workshops or camps. The group’s website features all of the group’s forms on line. The current Membership Chair interviews new members and then writes up the interviews for the group’s newsletter. There is also an established mentorship program to guide new teachers through their first few events. National Certification is encouraged. In terms of community outreach, the group annually donates $150 to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. They also gather used music and sell it for twenty cents on the dollar. The accumulated funds are used for projects including grants to local community music groups, and assisting students in need with music lesson material purchases or defraying the costs of music event registrations. CSMTA has two of SSMTA’s members on its current board. The group annually donates $150 to the MTNA Foundation and yearly provides a basket of goodies for the foundation auction at the CSMTA conference. Is it any wonder why this year’s CSMTA Local Association of the Year is the South Suburban Music Teachers Association? Thanks to Tina Vernon, Fort Collins Local Association President, and Alfred Born, NCTM, CSMTA Representative at Large, for joining me on the committee to pick the CSMTA Local Association of the Year. 

Submitted by Patricia Kershaw, NCTM, CSMTA Immediate Past VP For Local Associations