Rudy Hawley is the middle school band and orchestra director at Charlotte East Language Academy (CELA), a K-8 Spanish Immersion magnet school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district. He received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Western Carolina University (WCU) in 2002, a Master of Education in School Leadership from the University of San Diego (USD), and a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro (UNCG). He is currently a PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte (UNC Charlotte).

Rudy has been in education for over twenty years teaching music at all grade levels as well as five years of substitute teaching. Most of his teaching career has been in lower socio-economic and Title I schools. His music teaching career has included elementary general music, middle school band, orchestra, and choir, and high school band.

Beyond his teaching duties at CELA, Rudy is a member of the Standards Writing Team with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) in which he serves as the Vocal and Instrumental Music (VIM) team’s liaison with the K-12 Music and Theatre Consultant and the K-12 Dance and Visual Arts Consultant at NCDPI. Upon adoption of the new Standards, Rudy will continue to work with NCDPI to create the unpacking documents that will accompany the new Standards and participate in professional development sessions to introduce music teachers and administrators to the new Standards.