Last year, more than 290 educators participated in Creative Advantage trainings and workshops. We’re kicking 2026 off with The Seattle Music Education Coalition’s Professional Development Day on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute!

The event is produced by Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Visual & Performing Arts Program and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, with collaboration from our lead partner The Rhapsody Project. Designed for SPS teachers, arts organizations, and teaching artists, the day will include workshops led by music arts partners and a provided lunch.

Featured Workshops and Presenters

Upper Elementary and Middle School Music for Social Change 

Want to go deeper as a culturally responsive and anti-racist music educator? Join Kaity Cassio Faye and Pam Ivezic in an interactive, hip hop demo unit for grades 4-8. Educators will learn how to honor student expertise, respectfully explore social contexts, engage children in deep listening, and facilitate students’ collective musical creations for social change. Duplicate the unit as-is in your classrooms or use its framework to create your own on music that matters to your students.  

• Kaity Cassio Faye is an elementary music specialist and doctoral student in Seattle, WA. Her research focuses on teacher learning for justice, particularly how in-service professional development can better support music educators and their students. She is committed to pursuing anti-racism and culturally sustaining pedagogy with her students, as well as supporting other teachers to do the same. Kaity is passionate about BIPoC teachers’ well-being and is a co-leader in the UW College of Education’s EduDesign program. Her work has appeared in The Journal of Folklore and Education, The Orff Echo, and WMEA Voice Magazine, and at various conferences. 

• Pamela Ivezic, PhD, has more than 35 years of teaching experience across elementary, secondary, and higher education. For the past 18 years, she has served as the K–12 Instructional Services Music Coach for Seattle Public Schools, supporting music educators districtwide in developing inclusive, culturally responsive curricula and student-centered instructional practices. Pamela has written for NAfME’s Teaching with Primary Sources Curriculum Units and the current Washington State Arts Learning Standards in Music.  She also facilitates the monthly Washington State District Arts Administrators meeting, bringing together colleagues from across the state to examine key issues in music and arts education. Her leadership and advocacy have been recognized by state and regional organizations and throughout the greater Seattle community. When she is not working directly with schools or educators, Pamela is an active performer in the Seattle choral community. 

Meaningful Inclusion: Engaging With Distinct and Focus Pathway Students in the Music Classroom 

This workshop combines the expertise of Seattle Public Schools Special Education and Music Specialists to provide an overview of the vision for special education, share attributes for students in the intensive special education pathways (distinct and focus), and share strategies, specific to music, that support student learning and inclusion. There will be time to apply learning to your professional practice with the support of the facilitators.  

• Michelle Bammert is in her 11th year of being a Special Education Program Specialist in Seattle Public Schools. She currently supports schools in the Northeast Region of SPS.   Michelle previously taught Special Education in the Shoreline School District for 23 years.  Michelle’s two daughters attended Seattle Public Schools, she fondly recalls the learning and joy their Music and  Art classes brought them. Michelle’s work centers around providing this same access for all students.  

• Karissa Longo-Stephen is in her 9th year teaching elementary general music, 7 of which have been with Seattle Public Schools. She is currently the music teacher at Sanislo Elementary in West Seattle. Karissa’s teaching draws on Music Learning Theory and World Music Pedagogy to create a curriculum that engages students from a variety of musical and cultural backgrounds. As a musician, Karissa performs on both clarinet and voice, most recently with the Formation Wind Band and University of Washington Chorale. Outside of music and teaching, she loves reading, cooking, and being outside.  

• Alison Spencer has been a special education teacher in Seattle Public Schools for over 15 years.  She has taught in both “Access” (formally “autism inclusion”) and in “Distinct” (self-contained special education program with students with severe and profound disabilities).  Prior to being a special education teacher, Alison also worked as an Instructional Assistant and Occupational Therapy Assistant.  Alison appreciates the importance of incorporating music as an instructional tool and to increase student engagement.  She is looking forward to partnering with others to make music accessible to all students 

Exploring Ukulele + Guitar  

Join Joe Seamons and teaching artist teammates from The Rhapsody Project to broaden your skill base and learn techniques that can be applied to both ukulele and guitar instruction. By gaining a deeper understanding of the overlaps between the fretboard of each instrument, as well as strumming and single-note techniques that can be applied to either instrument, you will walk away with a set of tools, songs, and activities that are ready to be implemented in class the following week. 

• Joe Seamons is a musician and educator based in Seattle, dedicated to helping people connect with their heritage through music and storytelling. As co-founder of The Rhapsody Project, Joe has built communities that serve young people while establishing cultural equity. He helped establish The Station Space, a youth arts hub, and serves on the leadership team of Black & Tan Hall, a Black-led, multicultural cooperative in South Seattle. Joe directed and executive produced the Smithsonian Folkways album “Roll, Columbia: Woody Guthrie’s 26 Northwest Songs.” In his duo with Ben Hunter, Joe has toured nationally and received the Ethnic Heritage Council’s Gordon Ekvall Tracie Memorial Award for excellence in ethnic performance.