Teach young children with games and songs for higher retention and higher reading and math scores.
Urge your school board to set aside funds for music education. Like everything else in our public schools, funding has a lot to do with what schools offer. Show your board documented proof of the benefits of music education.
Look into music endowments. Contact corporations, past alumni and others about contributing to a music endowment fund for the school system. If an endowment is created specifically for the purpose of music education, then that money cannot be used in any other way.
Suggest music field trips connected to what children are learning in school. Perhaps a lesson on Native American culture could include attending a concert of Indian flute music. Tie music into learning about literature, fractions and foreign languages. Play Mozart while children work. Background music while studying has been linked to increased reading comprehension.
Write grants for specific music programs, including orchestra and band programs for low-income families.
Increase children's abstract reasoning with piano lessons. Researchers found that learning piano does more than learning computer in developing the skills needed for learning science and math.
Ask your school's music teacher about celebrating "Music in Our Schools" month in March. Each year, the National Music Education Association establishes a theme for Music in Our Schools month and offers suggested activities to celebrate music education.