Decades of federal economic policies that have concentrated poverty into isolated communities have devastated urban education, and expose youth and families to high stress and trauma. Disproportionately negative outcomes for students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged can be understood as manifestations of negative racial school climate and inadequate responsiveness to students’ trauma. As part of a school–university partnership to inform culturally responsive trauma-informed pedagogy, this study assessed the climate of a racially diverse high-poverty elementary school. Findings explored the application of the trauma-informed Sanctuary Model to address students’ trauma and a social justice response for urban education.

This article examines ways in which music education advocacy efforts have become disconnected from the unified visions and declarations of music educators espoused in the Tanglewood and Housewright declarations and are thus reifying the disconnect between what we value and what we say we value. We first analyze the policies posited by the recently formed Music Education Policy Roundtable and consider several counterarguments. Second, we suggest new directions in music education advocacy by discussing ways to make our programs more culturally relevant and valuable to our schools and communities. Finally, we conclude with a call for our professional organization to take a leadership role in situating the arts as an important element of American public school education by reigniting national aims discussions that lead to liberal and humanistic education policies.There is a positive relation between the efforts we have to expend on advocacy and the level of irrelevancy of what we offer. (Reimer 2005, 141) Recently, there has been much written within the arts education community regarding advocacy efforts (Bowman

The perspectives and experiences of students should be considered first in the process of any significant curriculum reform. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to music education, and educators have a responsibility to design experiences that meet the needs of learners in their classroom. After hearing the individual voices of students in one New York State school district in the United States, the music faculty and authors developed modern band electives designed to increase access to school music and attract a greater diversity of students by race, ethnicity and musical preference. District-level enrolment data demonstrate how these courses impacted the demographic profile of secondary school music by increasing participation rates among racialized student populations. These modern band music classes counterbalanced the disproportionately white and higher SES enrolment in the traditional band, orchestra and chorus, resulting in a school music programme that was more representative of the overall school population.

Recent advances in music technology include practical tools for sound recording and production in school music classrooms. Secondary school music production classes allow students to make meaningful connections between school music and the music in their own lives. We offer several projects for teaching music production and sound recording; provide examples of authentic, performance-based assessments; and identify opportunities for collaboration through digital means. These projects are particularly well aligned with the United States’ Core Arts Standards related to creating music and may widen the door for students who are less interested—or less able to participate—in traditional bands, orchestras, and choirs or music appreciation electives.

Approaches to teaching music notation and instrumental technique have been standardized and codified in the United States with great success in beginning instrumental programs. While these skills are important, we do a disservice to students if we do not equally develop comprehensive musicianship and creative thinking at a young age. Creating music is one of the four “Artistic Processes” that guide our instruction in the new National Core Arts Standards framework. It is also a process that many instrumental music teachers struggle to implement, especially in early stages of instruction when note-reading and technique seem to be the highest priority. Drawing on examples from an elementary school band program that shifted away from music notation in the rehearsal room and group lesson space, I examine how instrumental music teachers can move students beyond the music stand into a deeper and more creative understanding of the elements of music.