The NAMM Foundation and SupportMusic Coalition Hosted a Public Teleconference with U.S. Sec. of Education Arne Duncan

The NAMM Foundation and the SupportMusic Coalition hosted a discussion with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Mary Luehrsen, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations moderated the live conversation with Secretary Duncan concerning the importance of arts education in our nation’s schools.

Your participation was greatly appreciated as we helped demonstrate your concern and highlight the need for all children to have access to the arts as part of a complete and quality education.       

During the call, Duncan highlighted the series of music events at the White House that demonstrates the administration's ongoing efforts to stress the importance of arts education beginning with a Jazz Education workshop in June with 140 students from across the country. At the July White House event reinforcing the importance of arts education, he joined the President and First Lady in featuring country music artists Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley, who appears in a White House video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvUy540I7o released today.

To view Secretary Duncan's letter, visit the U.S. Department of Education's Web site at www.ed.gov. The letter is also available along with the full transcript of today's teleconference at www.supportmusic.com.

People who are interested in finding out more about the resources available for supporting the arts in U.S. public schools are encouraged to visit the Department's Web site for arts education at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/programs.html, or for more information and links to national, state and local organizations working together to keep music education strong, interested parties should visit www.supportmusic.com. Organizations interested in participating in the SupportMusic Coalition, write to info@namm.org.