Our blog/article and Radio Show celebrates the life and work of Romayne Leader Frank, lawyer, counselor, family advocate, teacher and musician.
To prepare for your new school year we have included Nationally known expert teachers, Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong’s Procedures, and their First Day of School Scripts. Also included are Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!” and Mrs. Becky Jenkins Irons, our Radio Shows 2016 Teacher of the Year Award winner, a fourth-grade teacher, shares how she prepared for her first day of the new school year.
The beginning of the new school year is a new opportunity for students to begin studying a musical instrument. Studying a musical instrument teaches students to concentrate, be focused, be discipline, gives them self-esteem, teaches cooperation and working with others.
Many of the world’s inventors, engineers, mathematicians, scientists, researchers, authors, medical doctors, and teachers have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain.
The article of the month is “Keys to Surviving During Times of Financial Stress” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Radio Show Feature Question for August 2026: How did Classical Music play a part of Romayne Leader Frank’s life as a lawyer, counselor, family advocate, teacher, mother and grandmother and what musical instruments did she play?
https://madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-musical-radio-show/
Romayne Leader Frank was born on May 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan to Earl David Leader a lawyer and artist and Mary Chernick Leader a stock investor, secretary, and musician. Earl Leader worked at Ford Motor Company on the assembly line to put himself through law school. As a child in Michigan, Romayne studied the piano and trumpet and was a voracious reader. In high school she was an excellent student continuing with her music lessons, studying ballet after school and was a model. As a teenager she worked as a life guard and enjoyed ice skating. After graduating high school, she attended the University of Michigan. In 1948, Romayne married Robert Frank who was studying medicine at the University of Virginia. She transferred to the University of Virginia to finish her education. In 1950, Romayne completed her education degree at the University of Virginia and Robert completed his Medical Degree.
After graduation, Romayne and Robert went to Boston where Robert did his Medical Internship. Romayne always wanted to be a Lawyer like her Father, Earl D. Leader. She applied and was accepted to Harvard Law School. At the time it was too much money for both of them to attend school. Romayne applied for a teaching position in Boston and found she was not allowed to teach in the Boston school system because she was a married woman. She went to work for Sears & Roebucks’ and wrote speeches on the side for Boston politicians at $50 a speech. My father, Robert Frank, continued his medical training and my mother, Romayne Leader Frank, was the bread winner of the family at this time. She enjoyed working at Sears and writing political speeches.
In Boston their first child was born. They then moved to Long Island for Robert’s Surgical Residency where their second child, Madeline, was born. After Robert’s Surgical Residency was completed they moved to Newport News, Virginia where Romayne taught in the public schools and Robert began his Medical practice.
My mother, Romayne Leader Frank, still dreamed of going to Law School, but my father, Robert Frank’s patients were fishermen and farmers who paid him in vegetables or fresh fish, so money was in short supply.
Romayne had waited over eight years to go to law school, and one day she made an appointment with the Dean of the local law school. She brought her transcripts to the appointment. After reviewing her records, the Dean said “If you can get A’s in both of these Law classes you will be given a scholarship to attend Law School.” Romayne Leader Frank earned A’s in both law classes. She was willing to study hard to reach her dream.
She arranged her law classes so she would be home when her 9 year old son and eight year old daughter arrived home from elementary school. She always had milk and cookies on the dining room table for her children and a cup of coffee for herself. Each day she would sit down with her children and they would do their homework together after school. Romayne had her law books to study and her children had their homework from elementary school to study.
They worked together studying for three years until their Momma, Romayne Leader Frank finished law school at the top of her class. Romayne Leader Frank was one of the first women to graduate Law School at the College of William & Mary Law School. She practiced law with her father, Earl D. Leader and latter with her youngest son, Steven P. Frank. She practiced Family Law & Real Estate Law for 38 years helping others.
My Momma taught us to keep thinking about ways to solve our problems. She would ask us questions to help us clearly think through the best possible solution to our problems.
She taught us that if we want something badly enough, we would be willing to study and work hard enough to get it. Momma was our role model. She was willing to lead us by example and show us how to study, how to learn, how to think, and how to reason out our problems.
Momma, Romayne Leader Frank was a lawyer specializing in Family Law and Real Estate. She had clients who were widowed, divorced or single who suddenly had no money or credit in their own name. Credit cards and bank accounts were in their spouse’s name, their divorced husband’s name or in their father’s name. They did not have money or credit in their own name and were unable to pay their bills and take care of themselves and their family. She taught them how to manage their finances.
“Keys to Surviving During Times of Financial Stress”:
http://madeline-firstimpressions.blogspot.com/2025/08/keys-to-surviving-during-times-of.html
My Momma, Romayne Leader Frank was happily married for 54 years to my Father, Robert J. Frank, MD. My mother, My parents founded R&R Construction and developed it into a thriving business in real estate development. Later their children joined them. My parents led the firm as it constructed dozens of buildings from Oyster Point to J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, and in Hampton, James City County, and Isle of Wight. They brought new businesses to the Cities where they constructed new buildings. They also brought many new jobs and more taxes into these Cities.
My beloved mother, Romayne Leader Frank was a brilliant woman with a warm giving heart who loved her family, friends, and clients. She taught her children and grandchildren the value of education, hard work, and service to others.
She believed in her children, her grandchildren, and her clients potential before their belief in themselves kicked in. She developed people and businesses by inspiring and motivating them to do their best! She was a leader that modeled and taught how to think, how to be financially successful, and how to be successful in life and business. She was passionate in her belief in the right way to conduct herself, which included a code of ethics, trust, integrity, responsibility, and accountability in all endeavors.
Romayne Leader Frank was a lawyer, counselor, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother, and musician. Her brilliant light left us on June 2, 2003.
Preparing for Your First Day of School:
Dr. Harry Wong says, “The very first day, the very first minute, the very first second of school, teachers should begin to structure and organize their classrooms, to establish procedures and routines.” (Dr. Harry Wong 1932–2024)
Dr. Rosemary Wong was asked to “give an example of what you mean by procedures?” She responded, “if you could close your eyes and say to yourself, “This is something I’d like to have happen in my classroom,.. then you need to come up with a procedure for it. You need to teach the procedure, and there are three basic steps to doing that. The first is to explain it. The second step is rehearsing it, physically going through the procedure and making corrections as needed. And the third is reinforcing it, which you can do by acknowledging that the procedure is being carried out correctly.” Remember to teach all “three steps”.
The Wong’s said, “Classroom procedures should cover every second of the school day including what students are to do as they enter the classroom, how they are to be dismissed, and how they are to label and turn in their homework.”
Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong said they “start by greeting your students at the classroom door each day. Have “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day. Bell work, even if it’s something simple as silent reading gets students into work mode right away. Posting a daily agenda every day in the same place every day, eliminating questions.”
What procedure do the Wong’s use to quiet their classes?
In their book the technique is called ‘Give Me Five’. “1) Eyes on Speaker, 2) Quiet, 3) Be still, 4) Hands free, 5) Listen. In five seconds, the class is quiet.”
To read and study Dr. Harry Wong and Dr. Rosemary Wong’s book “The First Days of School: How to Be An Effective Teacher” go to:
https://www.alruya.edu.kw/fileman/asp_net/the-first-days-of-school-.pdf
First Day of School Scrips:
https://www.oocities.org/SubstituteTools/HWongSCRIPTS.htm
Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!”
- 1) Effective teachers and administrators agree to have “an assignment on the board” for students to start on the second they walk into the new classroom.
“A well-planned lesson eliminates 90% of discipline problems.”–
“Before your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready with the “Procedures” you will use for your class and implement them by rehearsing your class until all the students know your procedures and understand them.
*For example: What is your procedure for students having a cell phone in class? -In your “Procedures” include Mrs. Hamilton’s definition of “Character”. “Character is knowing the right thing to do, doing the right thing even when no one is watching, and taking the consequences for what you do. The first step to develop character from the First Day of School is to teach that definition, and challenge students to build walls of character around themselves in the weeks ahead.”
- Remember to decide your procedures and teach them to your class on the first day of school. Harry K. Wong and Dr. Rosemary Wong’s book “The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher” is a must read for all teachers’. (See above.)
Have your smile in place, your student’s seat assignments ready and your first assignment on the board for the students to get started immediately after sitting down and have your classical music, Mozart Symphony or string music by Baroque composer J. S. Bach (slow movement with strings) on in the background of your classroom.
School starts the first minute the students enter for the new school year.
Be prepared! Start preparing and rehearsing this summer.
Remember students need to feel safe and secure! They need procedures.
2) Before the first day of school decide how you are to dress for success in bright colors to get your students attention. Remember first impressions are the most important.
3) Do you remember the middle school and high school Chemistry and Math teachers playing Classical Mozart Symphonies in the background of their classes and how much better behaved and smarter the students became? Well you can do this too! Put on your Classical music and help your students get smarter, work faster, and calmer.
4) Don’t just lecture tell a story. Make the material visual.
Be creative by becoming a teaching artist! Example: Dr. Madeline Frank’s “Musical Notes On Math”, teaching fractions and decimals to children in K-5 through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award newly updated kindle edition.
https://madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math
5) Make your course come alive. Make it fun to learn.
Remember that Alicia Keys and Dr. Condoleezza Rice both studied the piano learning Classical music and skipping grades in high school. They were both at the top of their high school classes all through school because they played Classical music every day. Playing Classical music made them smarter! Dr. Albert Einstein was able to win his Noble Peace Prize and make his scientific discoveries by playing Classical music on his violin or piano every day. Dr. Judith Resnik astronaut and electrical engineer made perfect scores on her SAT’s through playing her Classical piano music every day for one hour. Louis Armstrong learned Classical music on his cornet at age 13 and his life was changed forever! Your students can be smarter too by playing Classical music every day!
6) Involve your students in your course by posing a problem and helping them solve it! Make them into detectives. (Sherlock Holmes and his side kick Dr. Watson) Help your students work cooperatively. (In a musical String Quartet, members work together cooperatively with set goals and without violence.) Put on your Classical music to help your students concentrate better.
Mark Reimer & Mrs. Adlyn Reimer said to “Set the tone from the beginning—your class/rehearsal style is fun, informative, and fast moving, and everyone there is important to you.”
7) Help your students gain self-esteem and self-worth by showing them kindness & patience.
8) Romayne Leader Frank, Mother, friend, Family Advocate, teacher, & Lawyer, always said, “Every child has one gift.” Find that gift and accentuate it!
9) Dr. Frank’s favorite saying is “every student is a gem in the raw.” Start with that thought and work with your students. Believe that each of your students, on the first day of school, wants to learn your course and desires to learn.
10) Does anyone here like to work? No, then make it fun to learn. Put on your Classical music or Baroque string music! © 2026, 2025, 2024 Madeline Frank
Remember on your First Day To: Have your Classical music/ Mozart Symphonies on your CD or iPod before your students enter your class to improve their concentration, for them to stay focused, relaxed, work faster, and remember more. On your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready and rehearsed. “Have your “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day and post a daily agenda every day in the same place.” Be prepared! Have a smile on your face and put your best foot forward!
Students: Classical music has the power to organize the brain while listening to it as background music while you are doing your homework, to help you relax after a hard day of work or while doing exercises. Begin listening or playing your musical instrument for 30 minutes at a time. It helps because of its highly developed mathematics, complex rhythm, and therefore exercises the brain as physical exercise exercises the body.
Mrs. Becky Jenkins Irons, our Radio Shows 2016 Teacher of the Year Award winner, a fourth-grade teacher, shares below how she prepared and worked with her students during her August-December public school classes.”
1) Mrs. Irons began preparing for her new students, a month before the semester began, by studying their files, to more effectively deal with their problems.
2) On the very first day of school, students were informed about procedures and practiced them.
3) Mrs. Irons dressed appropriately and at times dressed to reflect the theme of the lesson or story.
4) Mrs. Irons prepared daily so that time was spent on learning activities and not preparation during school time.
5) She encourages her students to do well and gives examples that students can relate to of why it is important to do well and stay in school.
6) Students know that Mrs. Irons take’s an interest in them and tries to see the good in each student and looks for positive things to say about her students.
7) Classical music is played. This helps students quiet down, stay calm, and focus more on their work with fewer distractions. They really enjoy the Classical music and ask for it.
8) Students are spoken to in private, concerning behavioral issues and are not embarrassed in front of other students.
9) Cooperative learning groups and differentiation are used in the classroom. Students get to be a part of completing tasks successfully as a group in a fun but challenging atmosphere.
10) Articulation, inflection, and timing are encouraged when reading and when learning key phrases and clues.
Mrs. Irons says, “That by using Dr. Frank’s tips, a classroom environment is created where students want to come to school. They enjoy learning, and every child finds a measure of success.”
Dr. Madeline Frank says, “Mrs. Irons is a teacher who inspires and motivates her students. She sees the “greatness inside of her students and unleashes their potential.”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” shares scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click below:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
“Madeline’s Midnight Melodies- Music From around the World”. This CD complements her books with a blend of dance music, gigues, tangos, ballet and favorites including “Danny Boy”, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” and others. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” CD is now available for purchase by downloading a song, downloading the album click below:
Wishing you and your family a happy month of August from your Non-Invasive Medicine…Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an award-winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has discovered a scientific link between studying a musical instrument and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2026 Madeline Frank