It's that time of the year. Christmas has come and gone and we're on the brink of the New Year. While I indulge in Capital One Bowl Week, I take time to reflect on the year gone by and make plans and goals for the year ahead.
When I reflect on this year with CODA MTS, the most significant thought is that this has been a year of growth, despite the significant economic struggles of our area. At the end of the 2009-2010 school year, the Ingham Intermediate School District was forced to cut a number of programs, due to budget. The CODA MTS contract was on the chopping block, but only very briefly, as the Special Education Director came forward and vouched for the importance of our program. Unfortunately, the middle school ASD program we were servicing as a small portion of our existing contract was cut and the majority of those students transferred into classrooms at Heartwood School. Luckily, those service hours were added on to the Heartwood music therapy/adapted music education program (contracted by CODA MTS), rather than being eliminated.
This fall, a series of circumstances led me to the decision to implement an Early Childhood Music & Movement (ECM&M) program and the perfect location for those classes essentially fell into my lap. A true blessing! I spent the fall preparing for the new program and I look forward to classes starting in a few weeks.
As I was working on preparations for the ECM&M program, I received a call from Clinton County RESA, expressing an interest in contracting bi-weekly services at their special education center. A mere three weeks into the contract, they proposed increasing the contract to weekly services for the remainder of the school year!
I am so very grateful for all this growth and am thrilled others' are seeing the many benefits and rewards of music therapy. As I look ahead to 2011, I am very excited to get the ECM&M program running. It is my goal to have at least six full classes by the end of the year. Additionally, I want 2011 to be the year I am finally able to make strides in implementing a NICU MT and/or pediatrics music therapy program in at least one of our local hospitals. All the corporate "red tape" has made this a daunting challenge, but - I am putting it in writing - I will see progress with this task by this time next year!
Wishing everyone a safe and very happy New Year. LET'S GO STATE!
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