biography
Deborah Bryson currently teaches K-5 music at Rising Hill Elementary in the North Kansas City School District where she specializes in general music and adaptive music for special needs. She also has experience teaching all grade levels, and has taught in rural, suburban, and urban settings. At Rising Hill Deborah also provides extracurricular percussion ensemble, ukulele club, and choir.
As Subject Area Lead Teacher, Deborah oversees 25 elementary music teachers in the NKCSD, providing mentoring and professional development opportunities, such as courses on popular music methods and on teaching musical genres through a lens of equity and inclusion. This February, Deborah presented at the National NAfME conference on using popular music to teach curricular musical skills. She was also selected to present workshops at the Maine State MMEA conference and the Association for Popular Music Education international conference.
Deborah earned both her Bachelor’s in Music Education and Master’s in Music Education: Choral Conducting Emphasis, at the University of Central Missouri. She has also hosted and been certified in World Music Drumming: Level 1, and World Music Drumming: Drumming Up the Fun. She has been the recipient of multiple grants for World Music Drumming, xylophones, and STEAM music education.
In 2019 Deborah was the recipient of the North Kansas City Culture of Excellence in Teaching Award, and was further selected to receive the Honor Cadre Award.
Beyond teaching elementary general music, Deborah’s passion lies in serving other music teachers, helping them to find their spark and joy in this wonderful profession. She is committed to advocating for teacher resources
and opportunities for professional growth, as all Missouri elementary students deserve a deep, meaningful, joyful music education, and all Missouri elementary music teachers deserve the resources and opportunities to make that happen.