The following is a note from our school's Golden Triangle Curriculum Coop director, Alyssa Cliver.

March is MIOSM or “Music In Our Schools Month”. As a former music major and current musician, I am very passionate about the benefits of using music in schools - as well as the benefits of music integrated into all education & teaching. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) published statistics showing the benefit of music in our schools:

♭ MUSIC & Math/Spatial Reasoning: The combined results of 12 experimental studies indicate a positive relationship between voluntary music study and math achievement.

♭ MUSIC & Reading/Verbal Skills: The combined results of 30 studies indicate that music instruction is linked to significantly improved reading skills.

♭ MUSIC & Academic Achievement: First- graders who participated in special music classes as part of an arts study saw their reading skills and math proficiency increase dramatically.

♭ MUSIC & Academic Achievement: 2012 SAT, students who participated in music scored approx. 31 points above average in reading, 23 points above average in math, and 31 points above average in writing.

♭ MUSIC & Successful Schools: Schools that have music programs have significantly higher attendance rates than do those without programs (93.3 percent as compared to 84.9 percent).

♭ MUSIC & Social Emotional Development: Students who participate in music groups score significantly higher than their peers on measures of social capital including talking more with parents and teachers.