Monday Notes

Happy October Eve! As we step into the busy month ahead, we're thrilled to bring you some important updates and reminders to keep you in the loop. Dive in, and let's make this October unforgettable! Have an amazing week ahead!

Join us tonight at 6:00 PM for a special "State of the Association" town hall and business meeting! We'll be voting on a proposed constitution change and sharing an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what's happening within the association. To wrap things up, we’ll be reviewing the All-State Auditions. Don’t miss this important opportunity to stay informed and get involved!

• Link to join

Get ready for this week’s advocacy challenge—it's all about building powerful connections and relationships! Whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned pro, this challenge is designed just for you. Don’t miss out!

• Introduce yourself to a new music teacher within your district or another district.

As some of you may know, House Bill 171 has recently introduced changes to graduation requirements for freshmen starting in the fall of 2025. The updated state requirements are as follows:

• Math: 4 credits

• English: 4 credits

• Science: 3 credits

• Social Studies: 4 credits

• PE: 1 credit

• Health: 0.5 credits

• Electives: 5.5 credits

• District-determined: 2 credits

This change reduces the number of elective credits from 7.5 to 5.5, while allowing districts to require 2 additional classes of their choosing.

If these district-determined classes are not related to fine arts, it could significantly impact enrollment in music courses, especially at the 9th-grade level.

We strongly encourage you to reach out to the committee or administration responsible for these decisions and advocate for one of the district-determined classes to be a fine arts requirement. Another option would be to advocate for a fine arts career pathway and allow fine arts to meet the two unit pathway. Additionally, it would be a good idea to talk to counselors and encourage them to have freshmen not front load their schedules (start a foreign language later, take PE later, etc).

Since class offerings need to be printed by mid-fall to prepare for early spring registration, this matter is urgent—please consult with your committee today. Additionally, this decision could affect middle school students if the district opts to include certain classes in the middle school curriculum.

Don’t miss your chance to attend the inaugural State Marching Band Contest, co-hosted by NMMEA and NMMA! This exciting all-day event will showcase thirty-two bands in the prelims, with ten advancing to finals. Plan your day and check out the schedule here!

Make sure to review the following All-State audition registration deadlines:

Choir, Guitar, and Orchestra

• Early registration deadline - October 2 (5:00 pm)
• Late registration deadline - October 9 (5:00 pm)

Band and Jazz

• Early registration deadline - October 16 (5:00 pm)
• Late registration deadline - October 23 (5:00 pm)

Just a reminder to register for the upcoming professional conference! Don't miss out on the chance to learn, connect, and have some fun with your colleagues.

• Click here to register

Exciting news! The NMMEA Executive Committee has introduced a new honor ensemble category for Alternative Ensembles. While there were no submissions this year, we are thrilled to announce that the conference will open with a special Directors' Trumpet Ensemble! This ensemble will rehearse early Wednesday afternoon, just before the opening concert.

To participate, you must be a full active member of NMMEA whose primary instrument is trumpet. We especially encourage our general music teachers who are trumpet players to join in this unique performance opportunity! If you're interested, submit your name here!