• Educate the public as to the importance of Music Education and of the impact it has on our lives.
  
  
• Inform parents for the opportunities available to their children through participation in music programs.
  
  
• Identify the South Carolinians that participated in music programs during their education and document the significance of this experience on their lives.
  
  
• Encourage the lifelong participation in music by creating performance opportunities such as community bands, community recitals, small ensembles, etc.

• Organize the membership of the SCBDA to build a "Historical Profile" of every band program in South Carolina. This profile should include names and dates of former directors and student members. If possible, current names and addresses of these people should be collected in order to develop a statewide data base.
  
  
• Collect and make available the bylaws and constitutions of the existing Community Bands to any group seeking organizational information. Encourage the SCBDA membership to survey their communities to determine interest in an adult instrumental music program.
  
  
• Develop articles of interest for publication in local and statewide newspapers. Articles could highlight successful community members reflecting on the importance of music education and the effect it had on their lives.
  
  
• Aggressively advertise every SCBDA event that is open to the public. Seek ways to enable students in our concert and marching bands to perform for "standing room only" crowds.
  
  
• Seek funding sources to help the Public Relations Committee develop and present a major television campaign. Possible sources include grants, The Walt Disney Company, Bands of America, MENC, the Public Broadcasting System, instrument manufacturers, music dealers, etc. Consideration should be given to the solicitation of donations from the band programs whose directors are members of the SCBDA.
  
  
• Contact and form alliances with other advocacy groups seeking to promote music education.
  
  
• Assemble materials that would be useful to the membership. These materials should include articles and statistical information that would aid in the recruitment and retention of students.
  
  
• Identify the members of the communications media that are sympathetic to the public relations effort. Also contact government officials, local and state, that are in a position to support the cause of music education.

• South Carolina Band Directors Association has a membership of nearly 500 professional music educators.
  
  
• There are literally tens of thousands of students involved in instrumental music throughout the state. These students plus their families and extended families provide the SCBDA with a tremendous base of support.
  
  
• The schools at which SCBDA members teach have hundreds of school newspapers, year books, and other communications media which could be used to present a media campaign.
  
  
• The school at which SCBDA members teach are located in areas covered by local and statewide newspapers which should be used to publish human interest and other newsworthy articles.

• The words of Plato are still true today: "I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys to learning."
  
  
• A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ.
  
  
• Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: 51 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math for music performance, and 61 points higher on the verbal and 46 points higher on the math for music appreciation than students with no arts participation.
  
  
• The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college.
  
  
• Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted.
  
  
• A study of 811 high school students indicated that the proportion of minority students with a music teacher role-model was significantly larger than for any other discipline. 36% of these students identified music teachers as their role-models, as opposed to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, 7% physical education/sports teachers, 1% principals.
  
  
• The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians.
  
  
• The arts create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses (hotels, restaurants, printing, etc.) and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns. On a national level, nonprofit arts institutions and organizations generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity and return $3.4 billion in federal income taxes to the US Treasury each year.
  
  
• Without the arts, education is not education but vocational training. Practicing one's profession successfully calls for skills in dealing with people, for being able to comprehend the connection between cause and effect, and for the ability to carry the burdens placed on the individual in a free society. The arts help to prepare the human mind for such needs.

Music Education in primary and secondary schools

• leads to cognitive and basic skills development
  
  
• increases interest in academic learning
  
  
• is correlated with higher grade point averages
  
  
• aids in the development of academic achievement skills
  
  
• helps students develop faster physically, mentally, emotionally and socially
  
  
• improves student listening skills
  
  
• is correlated with high self-perception and cognitive competence
  
  
• improves reading, mathematics, and history skills
  
  
• improves eye-hand coordination
  
  
• reduces discipline problems

• Tell the public why music education is a good investment
  
  
• Establish your data base of band alumni in order to document their successes. Include name, address, phone, instrument, college degree(s), profession, salary range, do they still play their instruments, etc.
  
  
• Publicize the achievements (not just musical achievements) of band students, past and present - you might have some shocking statistics arise from your program
  
  
• Allocate money toward this project - maybe larger high schools could afford $100, middle schools $25? 100% participation is more important than how much you can give.