Melynda Morrone is a music educator and aspiring curriculum supervisor based in Southern New Jersey. Melynda takes pride in teaching music and advocating for equity, equality, and exceptional arts education for all students. She believes children and adults are unique and capable of achieving their personalized goals.

Melynda has secured several leadership positions within her previous position as a general music teacher at Whitehall Elementary School, Williamstown, New Jersey from 2016-2024. She co-created the elementary music curriculum with Monroe Township Schools. Melynda also mentored two music student teachers from Rowan University, served as a TV Studio co-advisor for four years, and was a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. As the choral director at Swansboro High School from 2010-2016, Melynda produced and directed the spring musicals, taught guitar and piano classes, coached color guard, and was a member of the Safety and Strategic Planning Committee. Notably, her choirs and soloists achieved Superior Ratings at the North Carolina Music Performance Adjudication festivals. She was honored as the Swansboro Performing Arts Teacher of the Year in 2016.

After the birth of her daughter, Melynda decided to take a pause from teaching in the public sector. She is the co-creator of the “Mini Musicians” class at the Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, New Jersey. Here, she specializes in engaging parents, caregivers, infants, and toddlers in age appropriate music making activities.

Melynda is trained in First Steps in Music (Infant and Toddlers/Preschool and Beyond) and Conversational Solfege Music Theory and Pedagogy by John Feierabend. Melynda holds a Bachelor Degree in Music Education from West Virginia University (cum laude, 2010) and a Masters Degree in School Leadership from Wilmington University (2022). She enjoys spending time with her family, nature walks, singing in her church choir, playing piano, dancing, and reading.

When selecting learning activities, I first seek to understand the student population. I want to ensure all students feel included and successful. This influences music literature used in the classroom.
My activities range from singing/playing as a group, singing/playing solos, and eventually, improvisation, and composition. For primary grades, I focus on sound before sight. Music is a language and I have discovered with my students and even my daughter, they can hum simple melodies before they speak. They can hear and understand language before they pronounce words. It is the same for music. We chant, perform rhymes and songs, students use improvisation to express ideas, movement to understand concepts, and basic compositions, given specific parameters. For secondary students, I choose exercises that assist with our objective and come from the music we are performing. I use aural, written, and kinesthetic activities in every lesson whether it be secondary choir or general music.
Finally, I integrate technology when appropriate. Young students enjoy Chrome Music Lab and Incredibox to explore music elements whereas older students enjoy free notation websites such as Noteflight for compositions or Sight Reading Factory to expand critical thinking, problem solving skills, while improving sight reading.
Over the fourteen years I’ve worked in music education, I have experience working with infants, primary, secondary, and adult students in both public school, private conservatories, studio settings, and church. Previously, I mentored two student teachers, created secondary piano and guitar programs and curriculums, directed and produced high school musicals, choreographed for high school color guard, and wrote elementary music curriculum. Currently, I teach infant and toddler music classes in the community. I have taught in various classroom settings: in classrooms, on a cart, in a gym during our school’s closure for mold, and virtual during COVID. As my mentee, you will notice I am approachable, flexible, and can offer advice and support in any music setting. I am a good listener, have empathy, and provide guidance for small, attainable goals as well as big goals! I want to hear your thoughts and ideas first before I offer guidance. In our sessions, we will have conversations, learn, and problem-solve, together!

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Elisa Janson Jones

Elisa is an entrepreneurial, accomplished, and results-driven educational executive, program creator, and developer with a strong education, leadership & management background. With a proven track record in the professional development sector as a digital education creation specialist, director, strategist, public speaker, and educator, and a product marketing specialization in passion industries.

https://elisajanson.com

Melynda Morrone

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