As an educator, Madeline maintains a strong focus on music literacy in the classroom. Her dedication to this topic can be seen in her doctoral thesis, "The Impact of Modeling Music Literacy After English Literacy on Elementary Students' Music Reading Abilities." She began implementing English literacy-inspired activities into her curriculum while teaching middle school band, resulting in better retention of notational principles, especially as they are applied in the instrumental music setting. Madeline expanded upon this during the course of her doctoral studies and further integrated these ideas into her instruction at the elementary level. Now she models much of her educational practice after The Science of Reading and other literacy frameworks to enhance her students' reading capabilities, technical prowess, and musical sensibilities.

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Madeline is also an ardent advocate for small band programs, as she has taught in this setting for the majority of her career. She has designed shows, arranged music, and written drill for a number of programs with atypical instrumentation as a means to provide quality music for all student musicians. It is her belief that the size of a band should not limit the musical opportunities available to its members, and that every child deserves to perform music that engages, challenges, impacts, and grows them as musicians and people.

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If you would like to discuss more about music literacy, or see what Madeline can offer your music program, please contact her!