Did you know that students who participate in music programs in schools score an average of 45 points higher on the verbal and 37 points higher on the math portions of the SAT tests than other students who do not?

Children who study music benefit from enhanced spatial and enhanced reasoning skills, which means children who study music will perform better in other core subjects, such as math and science.

Not only does participation in music help a child's overall intellectual development, which correspond to higher grades and better test scores, but music teaches a child critical skills that are important to today's workforce: self discipline, teamwork, problem solving skills, self-esteem and self-expression.

As citizens, parents, and teachers, we want our children to receive the best education possible. We want decisions to be made that are in the best educational interest of our children.

Many of today's finer schools already know that music is an irreplaceable part of a balanced education. And as part of our national education goals, music and the other arts are recognized as a core subject - equal partners with English, math and science. There is every educationally sound reason to keep music programs in our schools.

1. They are languages that all people speak - that cut across racial, cultural, social, educational, and economic barriers and enhance cultural appreciation and awareness.
2. They are symbol systems as important as letters and numbers.
3. They integrate mind, body, and spirit.
4. They provide opportunities for self-expression, bringing the inner world into the outer world of concrete reality.
5. They offer the avenue to "flow states" and peak experiences.
6. They create a seamless connection between motivation, instruction, assessment, and practical application - leading to "deep understanding."
7. They make it possible to experience processes from beginning to end.
8. They develop both independence and collaboration.
9. They provide immediate feedback and opportunities for reflection.
10. They make it possible to use personal strengths in meaningful ways and to bridge into understanding sometimes difficult abstractions through these strengths.
11. They merge the learning of process and content.
12. They improve academic achievement - enhancing test scores, attitudes, social skills, critical and creative thinking.
13. They exercise and develop higher order thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and "problem-finding."
14. They are essential components of any alternative assessment program.
15. They provide the means for every student to learn.