Affiliate Membership Standards
Over several years, teachers and administrators of JAM programs met to distill some standards we feel are important for program success. Three “Core Values” are listed below with suggestions as to how a community can ensure that each value is realized.
1. Core Value – Fostering Local Music and Dance Traditions
—- Involve indigenous “bearers of tradition” from your community as teachers or visiting artists
—- Compensate ongoing involvement of these traditional artists well!
2. Core Value – Community Involvement
Plan the program by involving community leaders in education, traditional arts, youth services and business/tourism to:
—-Collect community information including: Demographics of community and local music dance resources
—-Establish policies for the program such as: Personnel; Student Conduct and Attendance; Instruments and Equipment; Field Trips; and, Fees and Costs
—-Establish goals, budget and operational logistics for the program, to include:
* Defining target student population
* Selecting the site(s)
* Determining dates of program cycles
* Providing fiscal management and fund raising
* Employing and overseeing a program director and teaching staff
* Evaluating the program and program staff
* Developing student performance opportunities at local nursing homes, benefits and festivals
* Offering field trips & visiting artists to introduce students to the current culture of traditional music in their region
* Providing short-term volunteer opportunities for local traditional artists and others
3. Core Value – Positive and accessible learning environments that provide excellence in instruction, efficient administration and encourage personal commitment, good character and improved self esteem
—-Positive learning environments are safe and provide: screened staff (including background checks); and, instructional sites in maintained public facilities
—-Accessible learning environments are affordable to all (either fee based on sliding scale and/or with ample scholarships) and are located at sites minimizing transportation issues for targeted population. They often provide loan or low cost rentals of instruments.
—-Teachers are:
* Aware and involved with traditional music and/or dance
* Open to sharing and growing in their teaching
* Expected to foster cooperative learning among students
* Willing to assess students and monitor their skill development
* Willing to include a couple of core tunes developed collectively by JAM teachers so that students develop some common repertoire for regional gatherings
* Expected to enforce discipline standards and policies developed by their local board
—-Administrators are:
* Expected to monitor and evaluate the program in relationship to local board goals and objectives
* Encouraged to monitor participation by demographic group
* Expected to monitor attendance at weekly classes, field trips, performances and special events
* Willing to track retention rates of students from one class cycle to the next
* Compliant with their local board policies in regards to fiscal management and fundraising
* Encouraging of personal commitment, good character and improved self esteem by enforcing local board policies in regards to attendance, discipline, fees, care of instruments and Rewarding Success!
JAM, Inc has developed administrative operational guides, sample policies and templates. We offer these to potential affiliates for adoption or to serve as examples. JAM, Inc does not mandate these specific policies or operating procedures, but we do require that each new program have an advisory group that oversees their program, develops policies and operating procedures and meets regularly (at least 3 times a year) to monitor and evaluate it. We strongly advocate that this group include someone with significant decision making capabilities from the school system, a traditional musician knowledgeable about the music traditions and musicians of the region, a representative of other youth service and arts organizations, and a representative from the business community who can help with budgeting and fundraising.
Take a look at our Operational Guide Table of Contents