The Road Ahead: Impacts of National Policy on Arts Education in Maryland
This deep dive will cover the current state of Federal arts education policy and its impacts on the delivery of arts education at the state level. National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) co-presenter Amanda Karhuse and Maryland Music Educators Association (MMEA) co-presenter Amy Hairston provide up to date information in a rapidly changing federal education policy landscape and implications for Maryland’s arts educators.
Participants will walk away with an understanding of the ways in which federal education legislation and funds support the arts and learn about up-to-date policy priorities that affect music education.
This deep dive will cover the current state of Federal arts education policy and its impacts on the delivery of arts education at the state level. National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) co-presenter Amanda Karhuse and Maryland Music Educators Association (MMEA) co-presenter Amy Hairston provide up to date information in a rapidly changing federal education policy landscape and implications for Maryland’s arts educators.Amanda Karhuse
Amanda Karhuse is the assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at NAfME where she works with policymakers and key stakeholders to promote music as an integral and core component of a well-rounded education. In this role, she coordinates all federal and state policy and advocacy efforts for NAfME, which includes lobbying, coalition-building activities, and strengthening the capacity of music education advocates. Prior to her tenure at NAfME, Amanda was the director of policy & advocacy for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) where she advocated for issues of national significance to school leaders and led a research initiative on principal turnover and retention. She also represented NASSP as the president of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training and as chair of Advocates for Literacy. Amanda worked for four years on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant for former Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman of Florida and for the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute before embarking on her career in education policy. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA, and a master’s degree from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Amanda was a proud member of the Yorktown High School marching band in Arlington, VA, and she now resides in Leesburg, VA, with her husband, an avid guitarist, and her son who plays piano and sings in the all-county chorus.
Amy T. Hairston
Amy T. Hairston, MMEA President, is in her 20th year as a choral/general music teacher in Maryland (Springbrook HS). She is a proud alumnus of Oakland Mills High School and the University of Maryland. In addition to over a decade of work in Montgomery County, Amy has been a professional development clinician, virtual conductor and adjudicator for multiple school districts in Maryland, and has presented for CMEA, MMEA, NJMEA and the Maryland Arts Summit. She enjoys educational advocacy, vocal coaching for musicals and coaching youth soccer.