February 2026 Newsletter
Dear Medley friends and colleagues,
Welcome to the first-ever Medley Music Access & Inclusion monthly newsletter! Thank you for signing up for our email list— we’re happy you are in on the ground floor. Allow us to introduce ourselves (video) and what we are doing (blog).
Classroom activity videos and supporting materials below! Let’s start the information roundup.
Online Professional Development Opportunities
Sunday, March 8th, 6-7 pm Eastern Time: FREE office hour with Jen and Jess
Spend an hour on Zoom with Jen and Jess and a small group of other like-minded music educators on music education access, inclusion, belonging, adaptation, affirmation, and more. We will reflect, troubleshoot on behalf of our students, answer questions, and build community together. Bring your own inquiries, or just listen and discuss with colleagues. Advance registration required. Limit ten participants. Click here to register.
CANCELED: Thursdays April 2nd, 9th, & 16th, 6-8 pm Eastern Time: Intro to Adaptive Music Education
Our signature six-hour course filled with ‘greatest hits’ demo activities!
Sunday, May 3rd, 6-7 pm Eastern Time: FREE office hour with Jen and Jess
Description above. Click here to register.
In-person Learning Opportunities
April 10-12, presentation time TBA.The ABLE Assembly conference, Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Registration and info.
July 17-19, presentation time TBA. The Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Registration and info.
July 27th-31st, 8:30 am-4:30 pm. Save the dates to take our weeklong graduate course! Introduction to Adaptive Music Education, Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA. 3 graduate credits. Additional info will be found here.
Introducing Medley! Meet us on YouTube or read about what we are doing.
All about choice boards as an essential adaptive music tool on YouTube and our blog.
DIY instructions for making durable choice cards on YouTube and our blog. Also on the blog, an explanation of the benefits and uses of choice cards.
Enhance your hello song routine with one simple tag that boosts student engagement, growth and identity affirmation. On YouTube and our blog.
Our classroom mantra: Watch The Children.
Who Are Our Students? On language and contextual information.
What Are Accessible and Adaptive Music Education?
Things to Know About Us (Jen and Jess as professional development providers)
Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite social media platforms (links below) and please help us reach more teachers by interacting with our content. We are so grateful to be in this important work with you!
Enthusiastically yours,
Jess, Jen & Jon
The Other Shoe, an original playful echo song by Jon and Jess.
Freight Train by Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten. This classic American folk song can be a travel-around-the-classroom game where children use their imaginations (and possibly a choice board or cards) to pick the destination. Adaptable for all levels of ability, including non-speakers and wheelchair users. Email us for our choice board/card file.
The Little Green Frog by Lucille Wood and Louise B. Scott, a catchy children’s song with many applications: instrument exploration, simple two-chord harmonic accompaniment, expressive movement, and quarter/eighth note decoding. More details on the blog.
Rocket launches! Inspired by Stephanie Leavell’s Rock It While You Rocket, last summer Jen 3D printed rocket ship shaped shakers. Now she leads imaginative space and sound exploration through song improvisation. Use your 3D printer to create your own rocket ship shakers.
Hello, Hello, Jon’s new, elegantly simple hello song.
Everybody’s Here, also known as The Blues Hello Song. Origin unknown.