When Miss America 2026 Cassie Donegan was 12 years old, she had a plan — and not a good one. Growing up in a low-income family in rural southeastern Virginia, with a mother who was a multi-stroke and heart attack survivor and a father who was a 100% disabled veteran, life was genuinely hard. The thing that stopped her was music — not a counselor, not a program, not an intervention. Music education, inside her school building.
“It was the only place I felt safe, understood, and like I had a purpose,” she told advocates during a recent Music IS Education webinar. “I had a plan again at 19. And it was one show that saved my life — in the same way that having access to that education within my school building at 12 saved my life.”
She paused, then added: “I don’t mean as Miss America or as a professional artist. I mean I am alive today because of music education.”
That story is not unique to Cassie Donegan. And the numbers back it up.
She shared that students who are highly engaged in the arts are five times less likely to drop out of school and have a 20% higher graduation rate. For low-income students, the impact is even more pronounced — those with access to arts education are twice as likely to graduate as peers without it. Schools with robust arts programming report fewer disciplinary referrals, stronger school climate, and higher student engagement across the board. These aren’t peripheral benefits. They are what happens when we treat music and the arts as what they are: core academic subjects.
A Platform Built on Accessibility
As Miss America, Cassie has made arts education accessibility her platform — and she doesn’t soften the case for it. When people ask why taxpayers should fund arts programs, she says she often sets the elevator pitch aside entirely.
“Children don’t pick their home life, their zip code, or their economic status,” she said. “None of that should matter. Every child is owed a robust education that includes the arts. That’s not up for debate. Figure out how to make it happen.”
She’s not just talking. Cassie visits underfunded schools whenever her travel schedule allows, offering no-cost STEAM master classes she’s built for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. She’s working toward a meeting with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to push for arts to be restored as a required subject in the state’s core curriculum — a status it currently doesn’t hold. More than 116,000 New York students have no access to arts education. “Conversations have been started,” she said. “Meetings are being attempted.” She has made it a policy that no school will ever pay for her to visit.
“They’re already underfunded,” she said simply. “That’s the whole point.”
“Stories give permission to care. Data gives permission to act.”
The Story That Stops the Room
Beyond her own history, Cassie carries another story she returns to often. During an appearance, she met a young girl who was largely non-verbal due to autism — a child who struggled to string together words in a typical sentence. As Cassie began singing, the girl started to hum along, then to sing. She was working her way through “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” matching the words, following the melody. Her mother stood nearby with tears in her eyes.
“She has never communicated this way before,” the mother told Cassie.
“That’s not music as a learning tool,” Cassie said. “That’s music transcending what was presumed to be her inability to communicate. On a street corner. In an ordinary moment. That’s what we’re fighting for.”
Your Platform Is Bigger Than You Think
Cassie’s message to every advocate in the room was clear and direct: “Be loud.” You don’t need a title or a crown. Every parent, teacher, school board member, community leader, and former student already has a platform. The question is whether you’re using it.
During the webinar, Quadrant Research CEO Bob Morrison walked advocates through a practical framework for doing exactly that. The approach is simple:
- Know your role and your sphere of influence. It’s larger than you think — other parents, your PTA, local media, social media followers, state legislative offices.
- Know your audience. A school board member cares about different things than a state legislator. Match your message to their priorities — budget, equity, standards, workforce readiness.
- Lead with a problem, not a program. “20% of our schools have no music teacher” hits harder than “music is important.”
- Tell one story. One student, one teacher, one moment. Keep it personal, keep it brief, and let it make the data human.
- Use local data. State and district data always outperforms national statistics. The closer the data is to your audience, the more powerful it is. Use your state’s Arts Education Data Project dashboard to find it.
- Make an ask. Don’t just raise awareness — request a specific action. A co-sponsor. A budget line. A meeting. A vote.
Story + Data + Ask = Action.
Music in Our Schools Month is the moment to put that equation to work. Schedule the school board meeting. Write the op-ed. Send the email to your legislator. Bring a student with you when you testify. Post the clip. Show up.
As Cassie put it: “Say it proudly with your whole chest. Tell your personal connection to it. Don’t be afraid to go to the hard places — because when you do, it’s a lot harder for someone to tell you that your lived experience is invalid.”
Every child who doesn’t have a music teacher is counting on someone to be loud. That someone is you.
Cassie Donegan joined the Music IS Education Coalition for a live webinar on March 3, 2026.