Follow-up to "The Magical 'Moving Guitar'"



Today, for the first time, that same student stood independently from his/her chair in order to get to the tone chimes.  The teacher and I both did instant happy dances! 

Music therapy: using music as the means to accomplish non-musical goals. 

THIS is why I'm a music therapist.  Even though I don't have children of my own, I know the thrill and excitement of achieving 'firsts'.  Those 'firsts' seem even more exciting when they're delayed.  Or when an individual achieves something the "experts" said they never would.  Everyday I get to witness children, adolescents, and young adults exceeding expectations.  I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to use my musical gifts to elicit positive changes for others and to have the priviledge to work with such amazing people - students, staff, parents, administrators - everyday.  Thank you all for allowing me the honor to provide Creative Opportunities to Develop so many extraordinary Abilities!  

A Day at the HOME Office!

Really? A day at the HOME office?!? Considering I have been on the GO lately, it has been a long time since I've been able to say that! This week is spring break for both schools I currently service, so I actually have some time to catch up on all the other projects I have going on right now. These are also the projects which have kept me from having time to post much lately.  These include...

Graduate school: I am taking a class on music curriculum through Michigan State.  For both my music therapy certification and my teaching certification, I must participate in continuing education.  This class will complete the number of graduate credits I need to be able to re-new my MI Provisional Teaching Certification.  It also counts towards the 100 CMTE - that's Continuing Music Therapy Education - credits I need to re-new my MT-BC at the end of this year.  This week I will be working on a methodology paper focusing on Dalcroze Eurhythmics and my final project, which is designing a curriculum for a music class of my choosing.  My curriculum project is targeted at secondary adapted general music.

GLR Conference: I attended the 2011 Great Lakes Region of AMTA conference in Wisconsin at the end of March.  It was a great conference and I hope to post some pictures on Facebook during this week.  Additionally, I am the program chair for the 2012 GLR conference - which will be held in Grand Rapids next April - so I am starting to get matters in order for that project.

MMT: I am the newsletter editor for Michigan Music Therapists.  I spent quite a bit of time reworking the newsletter for this spring's edition.  I am glad to have that project accomplished and plan to share some of the articles in a series on here.

Administrative Affairs: There are so many administrative issues that go into running a business.  This week I need to have everything in order to get my taxes done.  This is a project that I do not enjoy and tend to procrastinate each year, but, alas, it can only be pushed aside for so long!  Additionally, CODA MTS will be a vendor in a couple upcoming events, so I need to make sure we have all the appropriate marketing materials prepared and ready to go.

Renovating: As many of you know, I also have a passion for real estate and my partner and I are in the home stretch of finishing up our most recent project.  There will definitely be some tiling going on this week!

Who else is on spring break this week? How are you spending your extra time? I hope it is warmer than 40 degrees where you are! (Brrrr, Michigan!)

How CODA MTS Came to Be

This post was inspired by music therapist & blogger, Rachel Rambach's post I Graduated...Now What?  In her post, she tells how she handled transitioning from her internship into a professional position by utilizing networking.  She also wrote, "Music therapists sometimes have to create their own jobs."  This was the case for me, so I thought it would be worthwhile to share the story of how CODA Music Therapy Services, LLC came to be.

I completed my music therapy internship at the UIC Medical Center at the end of September 2006.  I had certifications in both music therapy and music education, but - ideally - I wanted to return to my loved ones in Michigan and there were no suitable positions to be had.  So, I headed home, worked as a substitute teacher, and began sending out letters and e-mails to area Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) introducing myself, explaining music therapy, and proposing the implementation of music therapy services and/or adapted music education within their district.

Some districts replied that they already had music, some replied that they were not interested at this time, but, in December 2006, I got a reply from Ingham ISD wanting more information.  I arranged a meeting with the principal at Heartwood School, Marcia O'Brien.  She explained that they had been approached about music therapy in the past, but the special education directors had always turned it aside.  However, when my e-mail showed up, she was given the 'go ahead' to get more information.

In January 2007, I heard back from Marcia and found that her boss approved adding music therapy to the budget for the next school year (2007-08).  A month later - Valentine's Day, to be exact - I got a phone call from Marcia saying that they had received a parent request to have music therapy added to her child's IEP (IEP = Individualized Education Plan) and they would like to have me provide these services.

In March 2007, I started off providing 1/2 hour of music therapy two times per week for one student as a "temporary employee".  By the summer, I was offered a contracted position for the 2007-08 school year to service all thirteen (now fifteen!) classrooms with a combined music therapy and adapted music education program.  Success!

I worked closely with both Marcia and a human resources representative to develop my first contract.  The school was very concerned that my position meet the IRS criteria for a contracted position.  We determined that it would be most appropriate for me to establish my own company and for the school to contract with the company.

In July 2007, CODA Music Therapy Services, LLC became official.  For personal liability protection and my intentions to expand, I decided an LLC would suit my situation better than a sole proprietorship.  In the three and a half years since, our contract with Ingham ISD has grown, we have expanded to include contracts with other schools, contracts with hospitals, private pay clients, and - just this January - an inclusive early childhood music & movement program.  This is an exciting time for CODA MTS, as we look forward to the coming year and continue to expand our services throughout Michigan. 

CODA Music Therapy Services, LLC: Providing Creative Opportunities for Developing Abilities since 2007.

2010 Reflections, 2011 Aspirations

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!

Allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Kellee Coviak. I am a Board-Certified Music Therapist, a certified teacher of Early Childhood Music & K-12 Music, and the Owner/Director of CODA Music Therapy Services, LLC (CODA MTS).  CODA MTS is based in Lansing, MI and we specialize in music therapy/adapted music education within schools/special education; medical music therapy within hospitals, including NICU; and early childhood music & movement classes.  CODA is an acronym for our mission: providing Creative Opportunities for Developing Abilities.  Currently, we are only providing music therapy/adapted music education services, but my vision for the company involves expanding to include other creative arts therapies, as well.  For additional information about CODA MTS, I invite you to explore our website at http://www.codamts.com/.

Additionally, I do contribute to the Lansing edition of Examiner.com as the Lansing Music Therapy Examiner.  You may find articles I have posted on there of interest. 

My intention for this blog is to use it to expand public knowledge of and as a resource for creative arts therapies, particularly music therapy.  I encourage your active participation through comments, discussion and questions. Welcome to the CODA community!