TMEA offers multiple opportunities for professional development through events, our magazine, and a myriad of online resources and programs.

Fine Arts TEKS

The backbone of fine arts instruction in Texas, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), help educators structure instruction around what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level in art, dance, music, and theatre.

Recruiting and Retaining

With so many competing priorities, students often find it difficult to remain in a music program throughout school. As you work to attract students to your program and keep them, utilize these resources:

• Why Choose Music: Interactive PDF targeted to middle and high school students and their parents.
• Why Choose Music: PowerPoint presentation targeted to middle and high school students and their parents (customize the final page).

Read these Southwestern Musician articles on this topic keeping students in your program:

• Recruiting & Retention Article Series: These three articles offer insights from fine arts administrators, school counselors, and music educators on recruiting and retaining music students (January 2018).
• Recruit & Retain: TMEA members offer how they recruit and retain their students (August 2017).
• Go to the article archive and enter ‘recruit’ in the keywords field to search for more articles written by TMEA members on this important topic.

Work-Life Balance

The job of music educator can become all-encompassing if work-life balance isn’t a priority. Learn from TMEA members how they have managed to sustain this balance and enjoy this most rewarding career.

• How the Busiest People Alive Thrive: Consider these strategies for improving your overall wellness (May 2019).
• Achieving the Balance We Need: Creating a more balanced life will help you sustain a long career in music education (September 2018).
• How’s Your Balance?: TMEA members offer their strategies for how to prevent burnout and increase balance between work and life (May 2016).