Professional Organization Website Assignment
The Pennsylvania Music Educators Association is a very important organization that is both influential and prominent statewide in musical affairs. This association is committed to helping and encouraging musical growth for students and educators alike. To view the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s website, go to http://www.pmea.net. As soon as the website is opened, the viewer is welcomed with a map of Pennsylvania depicting the various regions across the state. People new to PMEA can determine their musical geographic location.
One very important page on this website lists the hierarchy of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. The President of PMEA is a distinguished man by the name of Charles H. Neidhardt. The Executive Director is Magaret S. Bauer. There are many other positions held on a statewide level, as well as on local levels. For example, each district has their own president, secretary, curriculum staff, and other important leaders.
An additional informational page that is key for members is the PMEA calendar. Here, people interested in PMEA can see important upcoming events. For example, the next State Band meeting will be on January 4th to discuss the upcoming State Festivals. There will also be a PMEA Conference on July 23rd and 24th which is now open to all members. Previously, these conferences allowed only 10 members or representatives from each District. However, as a new feature this year, all members are welcomed to come to this conference. The website’s conference information is both ample and helpful; PMEA even offers various room and board suggestions for the conference dates.
Although those are the only truly fundamental pages on the website there are several more that are extremely interesting and informational. My personal favorite of these is the District area, where each specific District is granted a page. This enables residents of each District to keep track of local events. As a previous participant in District 7 festivals, I am certain that this can prove to be extremely helpful.
Also of great interest is the news page. When viewing the PMEA homepage, several news headlines are listed which, when selected, redirect you to the PMEA news page. These headlines highlight everything going on musically in Pennsylvania that could prove helpful to musicians. The broad span of topics includes information on concerts, speakers, and clinicians. Also on this news page was something that I found quite interesting, that being a mentor program that PMEA has recently initiated. This program has been put in place in an attempt to help members in their first year of teaching music through any hard questions or situations they may encounter. New teachers can meet with mentors specifically trained for all different ages of children at the PMEA Conference. Mentors will not only answer questions or give guidance but may also have new and fun ideas for musical lessons, including for general music classes. There are mentors placed throughout Pennsylvania in various demographic locations for easier access. For more information prior to the conference, the mentor program can be reached at 610-695-9779.
A final page of extreme interest on the PMEA website is that of general documents, which relates to events and studies regarding musical and PMEA students. There are scholarship forms for talented students. Also there are documents regarding other competitions and events such as small ensemble adjudications. In a different section of the same area of documents is a list of documents that PMEA believes their members will find useful. One of the most interesting of these was a recent study conducted by reviewing PSSA scores of musical and nonmusical students. Further details can be accessed on the PMEA website.
Overall the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association is a fantastic organization that is always fostering and encouraging music for all generations. In addition to all of this information on the site, there is also a library, a links page, and a tab where nonmembers can join this significant association. Personally I have learned a lot through PMEA by participating in many festivals over my school career. I am grateful to them for all they have done and am glad to have learned more about the association behind my incredible experiences.
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