Each June music educators come to Wichita State University for Kodály teacher certification levels I, II, and III. KMEK is not responsible for the WSU programs, but our chapter is closely associated with the levels and choir. We highly recommend this great experience for music educators in which many of our members have grown as teachers and through which we continue to expand our Kodály community. Click here for information about WSU summer certification programs.
Sharon Parks, a founding member of the Kodály Music Educators of Kansas, was full of unconditional love and unending joy in all of her life's endeavors. As a teacher, she was incredibly energetic and believed that she could change the lives of her students through the music and love she shared with them. In our chapter, she filled each event with joyfulness and was always eager to share a song, story, puppet show, or singing game! The Sharon Parks Memorial Scholarship was founded in the fall of 2012 to assist those who strive to bring high-quality music education to the children of Kansas.
The purpose of the Sharon Parks Memorial Scholarship is to provide partial funding to a KMEK member toward study in the Wichita State University Kodály Certification program.
- Judy Mareda, Scholarship Committee Chair
The purpose of the Sharon Parks Memorial Scholarship is to provide partial funding to a KMEK member toward study in the Wichita State University Kodály Certification program.
- Judy Mareda, Scholarship Committee Chair
Past Recipients
2016: Erin Buster & Kari Plagmann
2015: Heather Ryan & Laura Klaassen
2014: Angie Huck, Tillie Ehresman, & Matt Nutter
2013 Inaugural Scholarship Recipients: Lindsay Jervis & Kim Noller
2015: Heather Ryan & Laura Klaassen
2014: Angie Huck, Tillie Ehresman, & Matt Nutter
2013 Inaugural Scholarship Recipients: Lindsay Jervis & Kim Noller
Congratulations to the 2016 recipients!
Erin Buster, Level 2 Graduate
First off, I would like to thank KMEK and the Sharon Parks family for this scholarship. I have been extremely blessed to participate in the WSU Kodály Certification Program and the financial support has just made this experience even better.
I have just completed my 3rd year of teaching in the Wichita Public School District teaching general music K-5th full-time at Franklin Elementary. As a new teacher, I had struggled with not knowing what to teach my students and my students we not retaining the information as well as I had hoped. I was feeling defeated and questioning if I had ultimately chosen the right career path for myself. I had been told by several colleagues in the district how much the Kodály Certification Program had helped their teaching, so I took the plunge last summer and completed Level 1. Level 1 opened my mind and revitalized my love for music education. I felt like the gaps that had presented themselves between receiving my undergrad and beginning my career as a teacher had been filled. Mrs. Jo had recovered the joy in my musical life, which then helped me bring the joy to my students the following year. After feeling discouraged for my first two years of teaching, the Kodály program ultimately saved my career as a music educator. I knew there was no doubt that I had to continue and take Level 2.
After completing Level 2, I feel even more equipped to go into my classroom this fall and teach my students high quality music. The experience during the WSU Kodály Certification is nothing short of exhausting and challenging, but I have come out a better teacher and an overall better musician. I have made valuable and long-lasting connections with other music teachers in my area and across the country. It has been extremely rewarding and I have grown so much in the last two summers. I owe my career to the people that have experienced this with me, without them I would not feel so strongly about the Kodály method and philosophy. To anyone who may be contemplating or curious about the WSU Kodály Certification Program, I would urge you to take the challenge. I promise you will not be disappointed with the rewards it will bring to your life.
Kari Plagmann, Level 3 Graduate
I am so grateful to have been selected as a recipient of the Sharon Parks Memorial Scholarship to aid in the completion of my third level of Kodaly certification. This certification process has changed my life. My first year teaching was a mess. I survived, but I felt as though I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Nothing flowed. Nothing was congruent. Students spent too much time in the text-book series and not nearly enough time actually making music. I was barely able to stay on top of what I was doing one day, let alone figure out what was coming next. That summer, I took level one with Mrs. Jo, and I returned to school that August feeling refreshed and excited for the year to come. I had a sequence that made sense and a curriculum that was appropriate for my students. Most importantly, however, I had joy. My classroom no longer felt like I was struggling just to figure out what I was doing tomorrow. Knowing the sequence brought me the sanity and structure I was missing, and my students were experiencing music in a much more immersive environment. I was no longer relying solely on the text-book series curriculum: the Kodaly concept’s folk music base opened an entire new, and culturally appropriate, world. I took Level 2 the following summer with Lisa Simmelink, and it only further opened the door created by Level 1. The focus on preparation and presentation brought with it an outlet for creativity in my lessons that simply had not existed when my curriculum was solely text-book series based, while practicing transitions helped my lessons to flow in a way even my principal noticed. This summer, Level 3 with Susan Tevis filled in the final missing pieces. We drilled down to the core of our teaching, focusing on the details of planning lessons to even more seamlessly weave not only activities together but also the concepts in the sequence as a whole. The extra focus on practice activities gave me the last piece of the puzzle I had been missing. I am again refreshed and excited, ready to return to my classroom this fall to share with my students the joy of music through the knowledge I have gained while completing my Kodaly certification. It was a long and difficult road, but it was worth every moment. I cannot count the many ways I have grown as a musician, as a teacher, and even as a person as a result of this program, and I could not have done it without my fellow classmates, the amazing faculty, and the wonderful support from the entire KMEK crew. Thank you!
First off, I would like to thank KMEK and the Sharon Parks family for this scholarship. I have been extremely blessed to participate in the WSU Kodály Certification Program and the financial support has just made this experience even better.
I have just completed my 3rd year of teaching in the Wichita Public School District teaching general music K-5th full-time at Franklin Elementary. As a new teacher, I had struggled with not knowing what to teach my students and my students we not retaining the information as well as I had hoped. I was feeling defeated and questioning if I had ultimately chosen the right career path for myself. I had been told by several colleagues in the district how much the Kodály Certification Program had helped their teaching, so I took the plunge last summer and completed Level 1. Level 1 opened my mind and revitalized my love for music education. I felt like the gaps that had presented themselves between receiving my undergrad and beginning my career as a teacher had been filled. Mrs. Jo had recovered the joy in my musical life, which then helped me bring the joy to my students the following year. After feeling discouraged for my first two years of teaching, the Kodály program ultimately saved my career as a music educator. I knew there was no doubt that I had to continue and take Level 2.
After completing Level 2, I feel even more equipped to go into my classroom this fall and teach my students high quality music. The experience during the WSU Kodály Certification is nothing short of exhausting and challenging, but I have come out a better teacher and an overall better musician. I have made valuable and long-lasting connections with other music teachers in my area and across the country. It has been extremely rewarding and I have grown so much in the last two summers. I owe my career to the people that have experienced this with me, without them I would not feel so strongly about the Kodály method and philosophy. To anyone who may be contemplating or curious about the WSU Kodály Certification Program, I would urge you to take the challenge. I promise you will not be disappointed with the rewards it will bring to your life.
Kari Plagmann, Level 3 Graduate
I am so grateful to have been selected as a recipient of the Sharon Parks Memorial Scholarship to aid in the completion of my third level of Kodaly certification. This certification process has changed my life. My first year teaching was a mess. I survived, but I felt as though I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Nothing flowed. Nothing was congruent. Students spent too much time in the text-book series and not nearly enough time actually making music. I was barely able to stay on top of what I was doing one day, let alone figure out what was coming next. That summer, I took level one with Mrs. Jo, and I returned to school that August feeling refreshed and excited for the year to come. I had a sequence that made sense and a curriculum that was appropriate for my students. Most importantly, however, I had joy. My classroom no longer felt like I was struggling just to figure out what I was doing tomorrow. Knowing the sequence brought me the sanity and structure I was missing, and my students were experiencing music in a much more immersive environment. I was no longer relying solely on the text-book series curriculum: the Kodaly concept’s folk music base opened an entire new, and culturally appropriate, world. I took Level 2 the following summer with Lisa Simmelink, and it only further opened the door created by Level 1. The focus on preparation and presentation brought with it an outlet for creativity in my lessons that simply had not existed when my curriculum was solely text-book series based, while practicing transitions helped my lessons to flow in a way even my principal noticed. This summer, Level 3 with Susan Tevis filled in the final missing pieces. We drilled down to the core of our teaching, focusing on the details of planning lessons to even more seamlessly weave not only activities together but also the concepts in the sequence as a whole. The extra focus on practice activities gave me the last piece of the puzzle I had been missing. I am again refreshed and excited, ready to return to my classroom this fall to share with my students the joy of music through the knowledge I have gained while completing my Kodaly certification. It was a long and difficult road, but it was worth every moment. I cannot count the many ways I have grown as a musician, as a teacher, and even as a person as a result of this program, and I could not have done it without my fellow classmates, the amazing faculty, and the wonderful support from the entire KMEK crew. Thank you!