I help music teachers and educational leaders create learning opportunities that transform student experience, increase teacher capacity and expand community collaboration.
With more than 20 years of experience as a music educator, presenter and professional development facilitator, I thrive on getting to know each team personally in order to maximize the impact of our time together. All of my work is built on a strong foundation of deep listening and genuine respect for each participant. With a strong ability to synthesize and reflect back complex and seemingly disparate ideas, I help people discover creative and commonly-agreed-upon forward pathways that empower all involved.
I specialize in making Backwards Design and the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) not only accessible but inspirational to music educators.
I have a passion for designing curriculum, guiding standards-based teaching/learning processes, and tailoring best practices to individual sites and teams. Come learn with me - what we can create together is beyond what any one of us can imagine.
“Quite simply, Nyssa is the best! As a consultant, she is supportive, engaging, and inspiring. I don’t say that lightly. We all know that topics that demand high cognitive loads like curriculum work or unit planning can be laborious,... but with Nyssa in the room, the work feels light, fresh, and constructive.”
“Rarely do we focus on professional learning funds outside of the core subject areas, our experience with you has helped to support a shift in our work to offer a greater focus on all programs, as the powerful work and collaborative experience for the team around articulated program development has empowered our teachers, engaged them in ways we cannot often do with their curriculum and outcomes. Our work with you will reduce the idiosyncratic nature of individual programs within the program based solely on teacher preference and experiences.”
Many classroom teachers find the evolving expectations for curriculum documentation and assessment to be daunting, and at times, overwhelming. In addition, arts courses often seem not to fit the standard templates and models used by schools. Nyssa has the ability to break these topics down into easily understandable parts, and can help guide our music educators towards realistic and practical strategies for implementation in their schools.