Executive Director’s Notes

FMEA Executive Director Kathleen D. Sanz, PhD

The mission of the Florida Music Education Association is to promote quality, comprehensive music education in all Florida schools.

Building Our Communities

Advocacy/Legislation

Senate and House committees are meeting and bills are being filed!

SB 318 – Florida Seal of Fine Arts: SB 318 filed by Senator Darryl Rouson passed favorably in the Senate Education Committee. We are working to see that the bill continues to move in the Senate. At the time of this writing, we are still seeking a sponsor in the House. We are excited about this bill to recognize fine arts students who meet the criteria. We will continue to keep you updated on the movement of this bill. Please read the Government Relations report in this issue of the FMD where Jeanne Reynolds talks about Senator Rouson and his support for the arts.

Please be sure to follow the FMEA website for legislative updates throughout the 2022 Session, January 11 to March 11.

FMEA Professional Development Conference and All-State Concerts Unity in Music Education: Building Communities One Note at a Time

As we think about communities, what are we trying to convey about the importance of building communities? Who are our communities? Where are our communities?

We all belong to several communities. We have a great opportunity to build our music community one note at a time during the 2022 FMEA Professional Development Conference. We will be able to renew relationships and establish new ones as we gain new knowledge and skills.

FMEA plans to follow the CDC’s recommendations to maintain a safe environment for participation in the all-state rehearsals, concerts, professional development sessions, etc. We will continue to update information as it is received. For current information, visit FMEA.org/conference and click on “Health Information.”

In addition, please review these deadlines for the 2022 Professional Development Conference:

«December 12 – Preregistration closes at midnight. Payment must be postmarked on or before

December 4, 2021, if you are paying by check. After the deadline the registration fee will be the same « as for on-site registration. December 17, 2021 – Final deadline for discounted hotel rooms. Unsold rooms in the FMEA room block will be released back to the hotel. Hotel rooms that are cancelled will be available until this date. Please book your rooms in the contracted hotels.

I am looking forward to our in-person conference that will help us to build our communities—one note at a time!

See you in Tampa in January!

Kathleen D. Sanz, PhD