Middle School Music Teacher, Miss Trauger, is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Young Music Educator Award given by the Pennsylvania Music Educators’ Association.
Secretly nominated by a fellow teacher, the award completely surprised Trauger who was in the middle of teaching an 8th grade baritone sectional when she received the email notification.
“My jaw dropped and the kids in the room thought that I broke my computer. I then told them why I was stunned, and they were so kind as they cheered in celebration,” Trauger shared.
Trauger attributes her success to her focus on creating community inside her classroom. This culture of respect, creativity, growth, and fun has grown the middle school choir from 100 to 200 students during the 2021-2022 school year.
Trauger reflected, “One of my college professors instilled in me that, ‘we don’t teach music, we teach people.’ This idea has helped me establish the foundation of my classroom.”
Trauger will attend the 2024 PMEA Annual Conference Awards Breakfast, on Saturday, April 20 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pennsylvania to accept the award.
