When Tennessee’s Tullahoma City Schools conducted a survey in 2021 to determine its music education needs, the rural school system discovered that not only were there not enough instruments for its 3,600 K-12 students — officials really didn’t know where or what types of instruments it already had on hand. With an investment of $50,500 from Country Music Association Foundation and Music Has Value, two nonprofit organizations that have forged music education partnerships with the district, as well as $25,000 from the district’s own budget, Tullahoma received last fall enough new instruments — 278 — for all the music needs of every grade in the district.

Included in this recent investment are acoustic guitars, portable keyboards, ukuleles, double French horns and more.

Tullahoma is also now using a digitized music inventory system and providing training to music teachers on best practices for working with English learners and students with disabilities.

Understanding the Impact of Music Education Partnerships

“We truly believe fine arts is more than just going to a music class or going to watch a play,” said Tullahoma Superintendent Catherine Stephens. ”It’s really about bringing on the qualities that art allows us to experience through exploration.”

Stephens said that when the instruments were presented to the schools, students and teachers alike were very excited. “It’s that feeling of being seen and valued,” Stephens said. “Tullahoma is this tiny little district, and look what happened.”

We have a true belief in what fine arts education, music education, means in the life of a child and a young adult into adulthood and beyond.

— Catherine Stephens, Superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools

The CMA Foundation’s music education partnership with Tullahoma doesn’t end with the grant and delivery of instruments, said Stephens and Tiffany Kerns, CMA Foundation executive director. In fact, the partnership continues as the district commits to sustaining the maintenance and inventory of the new instruments with CMA Foundation’s guidance, they said.

“I think everybody has to realize when you partner with an organization, there has to be value- value. That means to both groups,” Stephens said. “It’s not about ‘give me, give me.’ It really is about that responsibility and commitment.”

Read the full article about music education partnerships by Kara Arundel at K-12 Dive.