Tullahoma fine-arts director highlights student awards, festival participation and mass-choir plan

Sarah McMay, the district fine-arts director, gave a broad presentation at the Feb. 10 board meeting highlighting student achievements and program growth across Tullahoma City Schools.

McMay said about 106 students from Tullahoma auditioned for Middle Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association events and several were named to mid-state honors; four were named to the Tennessee Music Educators Association all-state band. She said 33 fifth- and sixth-grade students were selected for the Tennessee treble choir and that several students will attend state and national festivals, with three students and accompanying staff traveling to the National Art Education Association conference in Chicago over spring break.

McMay also announced that a high-school student's artwork won a Scholastic Art & Writing Award and will be on display at the Tennessee State Museum from March into May; the student's name was given during the presentation. The director described community partnerships that provided performance attire and supported students' travel and participation. McMay asked the public and board to attend a fine-arts night on March 12 that will feature an elementary mass choir of roughly 175 fourth- and fifth-grade singers, and said she and staff are working on making upcoming concerts sensory friendly for HMI students.

McMay framed the arts program as improving attendance, social and emotional skills, and student confidence; she cited research noting arts participants typically have 10–15% better attendance than nonparticipants. She thanked the board for budgetary support and said the district is active with Tennessee Arts Academy, TAEA and other state-level arts organizations.

Next steps: fine-arts night March 12 and continued work on inter-school collaborations, sensory-friendly performances, and state/national participation.