Launching ETM's Workforce Development Program

February 21, 2024

ETM is excited to launch the pilot of its Workforce Development Program in schools this February 2024!

The program is designed to create a pipeline of more music teachers for ETM to hire and place in our partner schools. The need for this pipeline has become critical as the national teacher shortage has continued to cause staffing issues not just for music teachers, but teachers in all subject areas across the country.

The decrease in experienced teachers entering the field has resulted in ETM hiring more performers and teaching artists. Teaching artists have a variety of backgrounds and expertise, but can most commonly be described as performers who have some experience teaching individual lessons on their instruments, or potentially small group sessions, but typically have not taught in a school classroom setting to full classes of children.

As seasoned music educators, we have identified that prior experience in classroom teaching environments to be one of the most critical factors for a music teacher to be successful. Therefore, the program has been created to target music teacher workforce development, by creating opportunities for teaching artists and musicians of varied backgrounds and experience to gain critical exposure and experience in NYC, under the supervision and mentorship of veteran teachers, to develop their skills before pursuing careers as music educators.

The program is supported by a recent $3M anonymous grant to be used over five years to improve the recruitment, induction and retention of music teachers. The new grant will allow ETM to support musicians through the certification process, with professional development, by offering financial resources for coursework and through on-going, on-site guidance by the organization’s instructional supervisors.

How It Works:

Intern teachers are placed at an ETM Partner School with a veteran music teacher, who we call Music Teacher Mentors. For our initial pilot program we have selected three outstanding music educators who have fulfilled the ETM model and are leading successful music programs at their schools. The program model has been designed and is overseen by the Programs leadership team. It is also supported by a new role to ETM, an Intern Instructional Supervisor, who will directly oversee the Music Teacher Interns.

As a part of the program, Interns will reflect on the practices and pedagogy they see in the classroom, and meet with their supervisor who will train them in ETM curriculum creation and classroom management strategies. The Interns will then work with their Mentor and Supervisor to begin teaching activities, and gradually take over the planning and teaching of an entire music class for a designated grade level. The Interns will receive regular teaching observations and feedback from their ETM Supervisor in addition to the daily coaching and support from their on-site Mentor. The culminating experience will include the Intern leading a musical performance for their grade level at the school’s concert.

We’re very excited by the launch of this program and look forward to increasing and strengthening career pathways in the field of music education!

Meet ETM’s Music Intern Instructional Supervisor:

Jameon Moss is an educator and researcher. His background also includes extensive operatic stage experience, most notably with Des Moines, Sarasota, Kentucky, and Fargo-Moorhead Opera. He is an alumnus of Morehouse College (BA), where he was awarded a Talent Award. Additionally, he has earned degrees from Northwestern University (MM), where he was honored with the Eckstein Fellowship, and Harvard University (M.Ed.), where he received the Urban Scholars Fellowship. Currently, he is fully engaged as a music education doctoral candidate and Center for the Professional Education of Teachers fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University, where his research focuses on charter school in-service arts teacher evaluation and professional development for teachers and instructional leaders.

Meet the 2023-2024 Music Interns:

Riley Corcoran was born and raised in Central Florida, and learned to play drums at a young age. When he was first making music in his garage, he wanted to know how to make recordings. He graduated from the University of Central Florida for Radio/Television where he learned even more about production and media. After college, he moved to Austin Texas where he spent 7 years recording and performing music. He loves all genres, and his favorite is rock music and hip hop!

Yancy Garcia is a graduate from SUNY Purchase with a Bachelor in Music. She was born in Brooklyn, raised in Washington Heights and now resides in Mount Vernon! She is a full-time artist pursuing her musical dreams. She started music in Elementary school in a program similar to ETM and it is programs like these that give children the audacity to dream and have structure in their lives, which is why she is working as a Music Intern this school year. She is super excited to join the team.

Juan Cecchini was born in the Canary Islands, Spain, and raised in Louisiana. He obtained a BA in Music from LSU, completing a senior thesis for the Honors College in the field of Ethnomusicology. He plays the french horn and moved to New York after graduating in 2023.