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Editor’s Note: Our guest blogger today is Ann Meier Baker. She is President and CEO of Chorus America, the advocacy, research, and leadership development organization that advances the choral music field.  Her 25-year career has included several leadership positions in the arts and in education.

Students composing songs about chaos theory, tessellations, and the Fibonacci Sequence is just the beginning.

March is Music In our Schools Month and this annual celebration is a wonderful opportunity for people to sing (pun intended) the praises of outstanding school music programs that are an important part of a comprehensive and competitive education. Today, while there is an enormous amount of compelling evidence about the value of these opportunities for young people, the reality is that school music programs are being cut at an alarming rate, leaving some of us wondering if it’s more appropriate to sing a dirge this month, rather than a song in celebration.

For example, in national research commissioned for Chorus America’s Chorus Impact Study, more than one in four educators surveyed said there is no choral program in their school  and, of the educators who said that their school has no choir program today, 31 percent said their school used to have such a program. And yet these same educators also agree that choir participation helps make students better team players, develops stronger social skills, leads to better emotional expression and management, improves overall academic performance, and helps instill self-discipline. These are the very skills and strengths students will need as they come of age in the 21^st century—as a society, we cannot afford to miss our most obvious opportunities to nurture and develop these attributes. They are right at our doorstep and within our means, school by school, community by community.

Chorus America salutes the thousands of outstanding school music teachers who work every day to keep quality school music programs alive and well in an era of dwindling resources. We stand with them in their quest and have developed resources to help, including the Making the Case for Your School Choir: An Advocacy Guide. Additionally, professional and community choruses are working in partnership with public schools to help fill the void when music programs get slashed.

Some recent examples include the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s “Voices Within” artist residency program, which teaches public school students how to write their own songs on topics related to the classroom curriculum. A composer, lyricist, and singer work closely with teachers in a highly creative, collaborative process that yields an original creation the students can all be proud of. What’s not to like about a classroom full of 5^th graders working collaboratively on songs about math concepts such as chaos theory, tessellations, and the Fibonacci Sequence?

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) works closely with school teachers on their “Bach to School” program that helps students see the parallels between music, academics, sports, the rewards of practice, and the joy of working together. In the words of one student, “I bet Bach was an awesome dude!”

Minnesota's VocalEssence has developed "WITNESS," a comprehensive education program that celebrates the contributions of African Americans to our cultural heritage. WITNESS offers in-school workshops with experienced teaching artists for students, professional development for teachers, classroom resources, and young people’s concerts.

Music of the Baroque’s “Strong Voices” initiative provides a menu of services including private voice lessons, coaching, masterclasses, and other in-school events to enhance the music programs in Chicago’s public high schools. Working with students in schools that are low on resources, the teaching artists are especially proud when the students they mentor win college scholarship auditions.

These and many other choral organizations are dedicating significant human and financial resources to educational collaborations with schools because they know first-hand how valuable music can be for young people—and they want strong schools in their own communities. While the immense task of improving our schools may seem out of reach, choruses and schools working together at a local level can make a remarkable difference—one child, one chorus, and one school at a time.