2004

·         Music Think Tank meeting held

25 music teachers, musicians, business people, an arts administrator, educational leaders and a politician discussed how to “tip” the nation toward a musically able and active population. 

2005

·         Center for Lifelong Music Making is founded. 

·         Affirming Parallel Concepts: Want to Teach Reading and Math? Try Singing! – Kay and Olson pilot an action research class with 10 Minneapolis Public Schools classroom teachers.

·         Workshop for charter schools - Kay 

·         Website goes online.

·         Try Singing! 2^nd group – 34 teachers.

2006

·         A Song a Day Keeps the Doctor Away committee begins meeting.

·         Try Singing! 3^rd group.

·         Hamline U’s Summer Literacy Conference presentation.

·         Teacher-to-Teacher, a free mentoring program for new music teachers pilots with 6 teachers.

          2007

·         Presentation at the Minnesota Music Educators Association conference.

·         Fourth group of MPS teachers take Try Singing! - total now 75 teachers.

·         Action research studies reveal dramatic improvement in students’ reading and math achievement, especially in kindergarten letter sound acquisition and third grade multiplication.

·         Presentation of action research results to MPS Chief Academic Officer and academic superintendents.

·         Presentation at the first annual "Practice Made Public" conference.

·         Interviewed on Air America Radio Education Matters program.

·         Fifth group of MPS teachers take Try Singing!

·         A Song a Day, a new 30-hour course, launches with 30 MPS teachers.

·         Presentation at Wisconsin Music Educators Association annual conference.

·         Teacher-to-Teacher mentoring program provides 13 free teachers-in-residence for 13 new music teachers.

        2008

·             Formation of the North American Coalition for Community Music – Kay was invited to attend and frame the “big questions” for the group.

·             Minnesota Singing Challenge – first statewide singing-in-tune effort is created.

·             North American Coalition for Community Music – 2^nd meeting is hosted by Kay at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN in May.

·             Want to Teach Reading and Math? Try Singing! 12-hour course launched at Hamline University - 21 teachers enrolled from MN, IL, WI