President's Message - Patrick O'Keefe

Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope the winter break served as the much needed time to recharge after a particularly volatile and challenging first half of the school year. Since our return to school in September, we have all been faced with different experiences, from remote learning, to some version of hybrid, and in many cases, back again! While the conditions of our first several months were certainly not ideal, the music educators of the state continue to support, challenge, and inspire our students in new ways. Please continue to read below for some NJMEA updates and highlights.

It is my hope that by the time you read this address, you will have already registered and made plans to attend our 2021 Virtual Professional Development Conference scheduled for February 18-20. Of course the last eight months have left me feeling oversaturated at times with webinars, meetings and virtual PD, however I am so excited to help present this collaborative project to feature best practices from educators throughout our state and region. Thank you for your consideration in attending, as it is our objective to offer a platform to reconnect with colleagues and refuel each other in a time when new strategies are especially welcome. Please also be reminded that should you not be able to attend any sessions live, they will all be available for viewing or revisiting asynchronously following the conference. This will allow you to attend more sessions than ever before, and save you from having to prioritize which ones to see during each hour.

While the pandemic has limited the travel that would usually be involved in Eastern Division meetings and planning, the work has continued virtually in communications with the NEB and NAfME. The conference originally planned to take place in Hartford this year has been postponed until 2025, however you may have seen communication regarding another virtual professional development opportunity being hosted by the Eastern Division that will take place April 22 - 24. Stay tuned to our social media for updates and communications regarding this event.

You may remember the formation of our IDEA committee as a part of the strategic plan. Initial goals of this committee were to evaluate past and current practices and trends around representation and access in a variety of our offerings in an effort to inform decisions and programs moving forward. The bulk of this first phase involved a large data dive into the students that have historically made up our All-State ensembles and the schools that participate. Thank you to Robert Hamm, supervisor of Arts Education at East Windsor Regional School District, for collecting, compiling and analyzing this data. In the coming months, including at our February Conference, we will be sharing findings and trends as strategy continues to develop around what we can do better. What programs can we develop and offer that may be more inclusive? How can we support schools, teachers and students throughout the state in participating in our festivals and ensembles should they choose to? These are important conversations that we will continue to have, and welcome your input.

In our next edition of Tempo, as well as through Tempo Express and social media, you will begin to see information about our next election for President-Elect of

NJMEA. Thank-you to the selection committee and those of you that took the time to nominate your colleagues. As in the past, the election process will take place through a link sent to your email. I encourage you to take the few minutes to participate in selecting the candidate that you think can best help to lead our organization forward.

On behalf of NJMEA, thank you so much for all you are doing for your students and communities. New challenges face us every day as the educational landscape has continued to swing between the many different variations of remote and hybrid learning. Nothing can replace the time we spend making live music in person with our students, but I am inspired by the innovative strategies our music educators are developing in its absence. Please reach out to me (patrickaokeefe@gmail.com) if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.

• Outstanding Liberal Arts Program

• Accredited by Middle States Association

• Performance Opportunities – Wind Ensemble – Jazz Ensemble – Marching Band – Chorale – Opera & Musical Theatre Workshop – Chamber Ensembles: Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion,

Strings & Popular Music 2020 auDitions (by appointment)

Scholarships available to Majors and Non-majors

Contact Rebecca Vega at rvega@caldwell.edu