This spring, I was honored to be invited by the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy to serve as a Music Teacher Advisor for a statewide arts curriculum review initiative. The project—supported in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)—aims to evaluate K–12 arts curricula across five key disciplines: Visual Arts, Media Arts, Dance, Music, and Theatre.
I was humbled to be recommended for this work by Dawn Benski, DESE’s Arts Content Lead, whose commitment to quality arts instruction has long shaped Massachusetts’ vision for equitable and robust arts education. The review process will use the same high standards that guide the CURATE (CUrriculum RAtings by TEachers) Project, bringing the voices of practicing educators into the evaluation of instructional materials.
As a Music Curriculum Advisor, I will:
- Review several music curriculum samples using a comprehensive evaluation rubric
- Collaborate with a fellow expert advisor to calibrate findings
- Support DESE and the Rennie Center in identifying high-quality curricular options for teachers across the Commonwealth
The work is designed to be flexible and teacher-centered, with independent review time and opportunities for collaborative check-ins and calibration conversations with other experts in the field. It’s a model that respects educators’ time while valuing their deep content knowledge and classroom experience.
I’m excited to lend my voice and experience to this work, and I’m grateful to the Rennie Center and DESE for their continued investment in elevating arts education. When we place educators at the center of curriculum decisions, we move closer to classrooms where all students can thrive creatively and culturally.
Stay tuned as I share more about the process and findings later this summer.
Blake Siskavich 