Learn how to engage all learners in quality music instruction that matters
Enrollment is currently closed.
Would you like us to facilitate the course for your school, district, or organization? Click here to request a call!
Why You Want to Enroll
Looking to move beyond theory and get to the practical applications of culturally responsive teaching in music education?
Know that culturally responsive teaching is important, but feeling unclear about how it’s applied in the music education context?
The Foundations course provides K-12 music educators with:
- The essential knowledge about the key components of culturally responsive music education
- The foundational skills to apply culturally responsive teaching practices to your music program
- A supportive space to network with like minded music educators and practice skills so you can be confident when you apply them with your students
Building off of our proprietary framework for Culturally Responsive Music Education, K-12 music educators will dive deep into the principles of Culturally Responsive Music Education so that you can work towards cultural proficiency, cultivate affirming learning environments, select repertoire relevant to your learners, and design high quality music instruction that is designed for learner variability & connects and engages learners in real-world contexts through the artistic process.
Participants will engage in a step-by-step process in order to gain clarity on the implementation of culturally responsive pedagogy in their music context. Participants will receive numerous supporting materials, resources, guided support, and expert feedback so that they can save time and energy while developing the confidence to implement successfully.
Who’s the Course for
- K-12 music educator of all disciplines
- Instructional leaders who support K-12 music educators
By the end of the course you will:
1. Know the principles of Culturally Responsive Music Education and how to apply them in your context.
2. Understand how to develop your skills and dispositions for equity and cultural proficiency in order to cultivate culturally affirming music learning environments where your learners feel a sense of belonging so that they can engage in high quality music instruction.
3. Be able to cultivate culturally affirming learning environments where your learners feel safe to take the necessary risks to engage in high quality music instruction that is intentionally designed for learner variability and connected to real-world contexts that further their understandings about themselves, others, and the world through the artistic process.
This course is right for you if:
- You want a clear and effective process for implementing culturally responsive approaches so you can spend more time enjoying making music with your students
- You want to cultivate a music program that easily attracts, engages, and retains learners of all backgrounds and abilities
- You want a music program where your learners feel safe enough to take the risks necessary for high engagement and improved musicianship skills
- You want to know how to appropriately select diverse repertoire without engaging in appropriation
- You want to design and deliver instruction that provides ways for learners of all backgrounds and abilities to access the high quality learning they deserve
Move beyond theory: If you want to create an equitable and culturally responsive music program, you need to do more than read a few books, listen to some podcasts, and attend a “one-and-done” session. You need foundational knowledge, beyond the theory, about what culturally responsive teaching can look like in the music context; you need to develop practical skills; you need a clear process for implementation; and you need guided practice on the skills in order to implement in your music program. This is what you’ll get in this course.
More than just another “knowledge dump”: You don’t need another course with a bunch of content and knowledge that you don’t know how to implement. This course provides an opportunity to develop both knowledge and skills by following a proven, guided process to learn and practice skills. You’ll leave each session ready to implement what you’ve learned in your music program because you’ve already had a chance to practice in the safety of our course community guided by a facilitator.
Feedback from past program participants:
“I really appreciated you modeling for us how to lead a lesson with inclusiveness. When you asked and used our pronouns, used subtitles, and modeled different ways to interact with your sessions, it put into clear focus how little things make such a big difference in feeling safe and welcomed into your space. It was refreshing to be respected as an educator with valuable experiences of our own to share. Your feedback was always affirming but also pushed us to think even more deeply.” Music Educator, Virginia
“Ashley’s sessions were very well organized and concise. I loved having the workbook to take notes during the sessions. The time we had together was just enough to make me want to take a more in-depth look at incorporating culturally responsive teaching practices and creating curriculum to support it.” Larissa Perez, National Sales Consultant, West Music
What you’ll learn:
- How to critically examine common music ed policies, practices, and procedures for equity
- How to identify your own cultural frames of reference and how they affect your teaching choices
- How to identify your current level of cultural proficiency so you can identify key action steps to strengthen your knowledge
- How to identify and plan for the specific needs of your students based on their cultural frames of reference so you can cultivate an affirming learning environment
- How to use a clear process to select diverse repertoire and make pedagogical connections
- How to unpack standards for real-world contexts
- How to plan for learner variability upfront
Click here or the image below to watch an info video about the course!
What’s included
- 4 live, virtual sessions to get deep with knowledge, have time to practice skills, and get guided support as you implement
- Access to online course community to ask questions in between course sessions (and for 90 days after the live sessions!) and to network with like minded music educators
- Accompanying workbooks, my curated resource lists, templates, checklists, instructional examples, repertoire suggestions, and more to short cut you to success
- PD Certificate for 24 hours upon completion of course tasks; NY state teachers receive 20 CTLEs when you enroll via Frontline!
- Access to session recordings and the online community for 90 days after the conclusion of the course so you can re-watch and get support as you implement in your program
PLUS these bonuses!
- Immediate access to the Culturally Responsive Music Education 101 on-demand module from the Responsive Music Educator Library (normally $375)
- Complimentary group follow up coaching session (normally $1,500)
- Complimentary one-on-one coaching session with me to get individualized support (normally $725)
Your investment
- Individual: $1,795 (or 4 payments of $475.50)
- Employees of TST BOCES districts (Candor, Dryden, George Jr. Republic, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield, Trumansburg, and South Seneca): $1,425
- NY state teachers (non TST BOCES districts): $1,725 – enroll via Frontline in order to receive CTLE credit & use district funds
- Groups of 5 or more enrolling together*: $1,625 per teacher
Open enrollment cohort is currently closed. Would you like us to facilitate this course for your school, district, or organization? Click here to request a call to discuss!
Here’s what music educator, James Dorsey, shared about our professional learning offerings!:
Hear what teachers & instructional leaders say about our professional learning offerings here!
What to expect
Dates and times
- Session 1 – Developing a Mindset for Musical Equity
- Session 2 – Setting the Stage for Affirming Musical Learning Environments
- Session 3 – Selecting Diverse Repertoire & Musical Materials
- Session 4 – Designing Real-World Music Curriculum & Instruction for Variability
Interaction & Community
This is a fully interactive course, no “sit and get”! Expect to engage in discussion, skill building practice tasks, and guided practice during each session. Completed course tasks are required in order to receive the PD certificate.
Additionally, we will have an online community to discuss, get feedback, and network with like minded music educators between our live sessions. Participants will have access to the online community for an additional 90 days following the live sessions of the course in order to get support and coaching as they implement their new skills into their music programs.
Course access and recordings
Each session will be recorded (except for breakouts). All recordings will be available for 90 days following the conclusion of the course.
Cancelation & refund policy
- There are no refunds
- In the rare event that A. Cuthbertson Consulting does not receive enough enrollment to host the course, we will provide an alternative learning pathway for all registrants or apply the fees to a future cohort of the course.
About the Facilitator
Ashley Cuthbertson, M.Ed, NBCT (she/her) is the CEO & Principal Consultant of A. Cuthbertson Consulting, LLC, an educational consulting firm that partners with schools, school districts, and organizations to help music educators develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to deliver instruction that is culturally responsive & relevant to the diverse and ever-changing needs of today’s learners so that all students have an equitable pathway to success in music.
Described as an “engaging and charismatic” teacher educator, Ashley has delivered over 100 professional development sessions, serving hundreds of music educators across the U.S. and internationally with 95% of attendees highly recommending her sessions. Additionally, she provides instructional coaching services and professional learning community support.
A Nationally Board Certified Teacher, Ashley holds a Master’s in Education, as well as certifications in the Kodály approach and Arts integration. Ashley has over thirteen years of experience in education as a general music & choral educator, a band educator, a K-12 musicianship instructor, a private lessons instructor, lead teacher, new teacher coach, adjunct professor, curriculum writer, speaker, and consultant.
A passionate advocate for music education, Ashley additionally serves the National Association for Music Education as a member of the Music Education Policy Roundtable and the Virginia Music Educators Association as chair of the DEI Council.
Hear what teachers & instructional leaders say about Ashley’s work here!